Brain, Neuropsychology of Humor

In the past few decades, the development of innovative methods to examine brain activity has enabled us to elucidate on and better understand neural underpinnings of humor-related processes like tickling sensations, humor comprehension and appreciation, smiling, and laughing. Studies of humor using noninvasive brain-scanning techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have largely involved healthy populations; however, a small group of studies have focused on individuals who, due to a neurological disorder or specific brain lesion, are incapable of processing or enjoying humor. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that humor processing (i.e., cognitive comprehension) and enjoyment of humorous stimuli (i.e., emotional appreciation) are attributed to a complex network that connects various regions in the brain.

Indeed, humor is a complex information-processing ...