Tickling others can be fun, and it can sometimes be fun when tickled. So, does this mean ticklish people are more fun?
According to Darwin’s thoughts, both tickling and comedy “tickled the mind.” People full of humour laugh at funny jokes and because of tickles. This sounds like a fun person to me.
This year, researchers from Swiss proved Darwin wrong. After a few brain scans, the Swiss researchers found humour and ticklish giggles are pretty different.
In addition to tickling causing the same brain regions to light up as a good joke, it also lights up the hypothalamus. This region regulates a lot of intuitive functions (body temp., hunger etc.). It also stimulates the anticipation of pain areas of the brain.
These different areas of activation explain why people act like they are under attack when tickled and why they might throw kicks or punches at those tickling them. It also explains why tickling can be uncomfortable and cause you to laugh at the same time.
Tickling still puts us in a fun mood, despite its mixed feelings. Two researchers from California tried tickling people before and after a comedy. Those tickled were more likely to laugh than people not tickled before comedy. Not only that, but they laughed more after comedy when tickled. It looks like tickling gets you in the mood for more tickling.
A ticklish person may not be more fun, but the tickling does seem to put us in the mood for fun.
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