Laughter, however, has no obvious survival-stimulating analog.
Sexual intercourse also rewards the participants with a cocktail of natural feel-good biochemicals, perhaps as a means to encourage the development of the pornography industry, which is vital to a strong economy. The bliss found in eating fatty foods, for instance, probably provided early humans with the ambition to hunt and devour energy-rich animal flesh. Typically when the brain wishes to impose significance upon something, it rewards the activity with a portion of endorphins, thereby enticing the individual to repeat the action as often as possible. Given the participation of the brain’s reward centers, it is likely that laughter provided humanity’s precursors with some evolutionary advantage. But in regards to what information is exchanged during these involuntary conversations, researchers are still uncertain. In light of the evidence, gelotologists generally agree that laughter is a primitive form of reflexive communication, harking back to early mammalian evolution. In each case, the sound of laughter seems to reduce stress levels and promote bonding among the animals. When dogs and primates share positive social contact such as wrestling, play chasing, or touching, they often emit laughter-like vocalizations and ultrasonic laughter has been recorded during groundbreaking rat-tickling experiments. But contrary to popular belief, laughter is not a uniquely human trait. These insights strongly suggest that the physical expression of laughter serves as a social signal among humans. Moreover, a person is 30 times more likely to laugh if there are other people present. One peculiarity of laughter is that the mere sound of it can often trigger similar gelotoleptic fits in others. These involuntary aerobics can leave the individual winded and achy, but nonetheless the experience is usually perceived as pleasant due to the opiate-like endorphins which simultaneously saturate the brain. Additionally, the irregular breathing may produce gasps or snorts to punctuate the absurd spectacle. During particularly boisterous episodes, the tear ducts and sweat glands activate, and the body may experience a profound loss of muscle strength known as gelotolepsy. The diaphragm and abdominal muscles begin staccato spasms, while the larynx- which is squeezed halfway shut by the epiglottis- turns each spasm-segmented breath-burst into a short “ha!” vocalization. First, the muscles of the face contract, baring the individual’s upper teeth as they involuntarily evacuate the contents of their lungs. The formal study of laughter is conducted by specialists known as gelotologists, and thanks to their EEGs, fMRI scans, stethoscopes, and sphygmomanometers, the physiology of laughter- awkward laboratory laughter, at least- is well documented.
Taken together, these remarkable bizarre symptoms are known as laughter, and although it is universal among human races and cultures, its processes and purpose are not yet fully understood. Alarmingly, the phenomenon is highly contagious, and in extreme cases, it can even lead to death. Though the episodes are usually transitory, they will occasionally erupt as intense, prolonged outbursts where bodily fluid containment is placed in jeopardy as the hapless victim collapses into a moist, quivering, rhythmically-vocalizing mass. The affliction under study is surprisingly common among humans. For one informative moment, the EEG’s mechanical scribblings flap rapidly from margin to margin, providing a nugget of neurological gold.
Damn endorphin wrestling series#
His breathing becomes spasmodic, and he makes a series of involuntary, repeated vocalizations. The volunteer’s face muscles contract, and his body begins to convulse. Among the long list of experimental sentences, however, a few provoke a peculiar response. The needles on the electroencephalograph (EEG) flutter with each utterance, but most of the phrases prompt little discernible reaction from the testee. In the adjoining room, a volunteer listens attentively with a collection of colorful wires trailing from his head. Within a nondescript university laboratory, a neurobiologist reads aloud from her list of prepared phrases. Please do not distribute without written permission from Damn Interesting.
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