The Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962: When uncontrollable laughing became a public health crisis

In January 1962, three schoolgirls at a mission boarding school near Lake Victoria in what was then called Tanganyika began ...

Your Brain Has Separate Circuits for Belly Laughs and Polite Chuckles

Studies in animals and epilepsy patients suggest that spontaneous laughter is regulated by different brain networks than ...
Techno-Science.net on MSN

15 million years of laughter: What our ancestors bequeathed to our voice

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick shows that humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and ...

Every Time You Laugh, You're Echoing a Sound That's 15 Million Years Old

A new study found human laughter shares a 15-million-year-old rhythm with great apes, offering fresh clues about the ...
Earth.com

Your brain has two completely different kinds of laughter

Scientists mapped two hidden laughter networks in the brain, revealing why spontaneous laughter cannot be faked and may even help ease pain.

Belly Laughs Spring From The Primitive Brain, Researchers Say

That sort of spontaneous laughter might originate from a more primitive part of the human brain, researchers reported June 23 ...
The Cool Down on MSN

U.K. study finds humans and great apes have been giggling alike for 15 million years

The research could also give scientists another way to understand how speech developed over time.