Humor and emotion: Quantitative meta analyses of functional neuroimaging studies

Humor is a ubiquitous aspect of human behavior that is infrequently the focus of neuroscience research. To localize human brain structures associated with the experience of humor, we conducted quantitative activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta analyses of 57 fMRI studies (n = 1248) reporting enh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cortex 2021-06, Vol.139, p.60-72
Main Authors: Farkas, Andrew H., Trotti, Rebekah L., Edge, Elizabeth A., Huang, Ling-Yu, Kasowski, Aviva, Thomas, Olivia F., Chlan, Eli, Granros, Maria P., Patel, Kajol K., Sabatinelli, Dean
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain Mapping
Emotion
Emotions
Functional Neuroimaging
Human
Humans
Humor
Humour
Likelihood Functions
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Meta-analysis
Neuroimaging
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Summary:Humor is a ubiquitous aspect of human behavior that is infrequently the focus of neuroscience research. To localize human brain structures associated with the experience of humor, we conducted quantitative activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta analyses of 57 fMRI studies (n = 1248) reporting enhanced regional brain activity evoked by humorous cues versus matched control cues. We performed separate ALE analyses of studies that employed picture-driven, text-based, and auditory laughter cues to evoke humor. A primary finding was that complex humor activates supramodal areas of the brain strongly associated with emotional processes, including bilateral amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, activation in brain regions associated with language, semantic knowledge, and theory of mind were differentially modulated by text and picture-driven humor cues, while hearing laughter enhances activation in auditory association cortex. The identification of humor-driven brain networks has the potential to expand brain-derived models of human emotion and could provide useful targets in translational research and therapy.
ISSN:0010-9452
1973-8102
DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.023