Tickling Our Neurons: Science of Humor

How do our brains actually process jokes? Which brain regions allow us to create humor? 

The Incongruity Resolution Theory was first hypothesized by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century. It suggests that for something to be funny, it needs to defy our expectations of what is going to be said or happen. This theory has three stages of incongruity -- detection, resolution, and appreciation.

Kant's theory is still widely accepted by scientists today -- the idea of defied expectations and surprise remains constant in recent studies.⁵

The Incongruity Resolution Theory in action:

We are told the first part of the joke (no punchline yet), and our frontal lobe (what detects and searches for patterns) tries to find the answer (punchline). Then, the punchline comes

1. Incongruity detection: the frontal lobe searches for a pattern and/or logical answer, which the punchline will contrast.

2. Incongruity resolution: the prefrontal cortex part of the frontal lobe may make the brain use more processing power for the joke

3. Incongruity appreciation: the punchline hits and the brain triggers the reward center -- our heart rate rises, and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and other endorphins are released, and laughter escapes our mouths.⁶

In a 2016 experiment by Ori Amir and Irving Biederman, professional comedians, amateurs, and a control group composed of both, were tasked with creating captions for cartoons while undergoing Function Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The results of the experiment showed that the TMP exhibited greater activation during humorous tasks than normal ones. Furthermore, the funnier the caption, the more the TMP was used. This meant that the funnier the individual, the more they used their TMP. ⁷