Guest guest Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 No Joke: Animals Laugh, Too Source > http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=96 & ncid=96 & e=6 & u=/space/20050331\ /sc_space/nojokeanimalslaughtoo Thu Mar 31, 2:19 PM ET Robert Roy Britt LiveScience Senior Writer LiveScience.com Life can be funny, and not just for humans. Studies by various groups suggest monkeys, dogs and even rats love a good laugh. People, meanwhile, have been laughing since before they could talk. " Indeed, neural circuits for laughter exist in very ancient regions of the brain, and ancestral forms of play and laughter existed in other animals eons before we humans came along with our 'ha-ha-has' and verbal repartee, " says Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist at Bowling Green State University. When chimps play and chase each other, they pant in a manner that is strikingly like human laughter, Panksepp writes in the April 1 issue of the journal Science. Dogs have a similar response. Rats chirp while they play, again in a way that resembles our giggles. Panksepp found in a previous study that when rats are playfully tickled, they chirp and bond socially with their human tickler. And they seem to like it, seeking to be tickled more. Apparently joyful rats also preferred to hang out with other chirpers. Laughter in humans starts young, another clue that it's a deep-seated brain function. " Young children, whose semantic sense of humor is marginal, laugh and shriek abundantly in the midst of their other rough-and-tumble activities, " Panksepp notes. Importantly, various recent studies on the topic suggest that laughter in animals typically involves similar play chasing. Could be that verbal jokes tickle ancient, playful circuits in our brains. More study is needed to figure out whether animals are really laughing. The results could explain why humans like to joke around. And Panksepp speculates it might even lead to the development of treatments for laughter's dark side: depression. Meanwhile, there's the question of what's so darn funny in the animal world. " Although no one has investigated the possibility of rat humor, if it exists, it is likely to be heavily laced with slapstick, " Panksepp figures. " Even if adult rodents have no well-developed cognitive sense of humor, young rats have a marvelous sense of fun. " Science has traditionally deemed animals incapable of joy and woe. Panksepp's response: " Although some still regard laughter as a uniquely human trait, honed in the Pleistocene, the joke's on them. " * Rare but Real: People Who Feel, Taste and Hear Color * Language of Prairie Dogs Includes Words for Humans * Not Funny, But LOL Anyway * Study: Optimists Live Longer Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Image Galleries, Interactive Features, Trivia and more. Make your home page http://www./r/hs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 I wonder why they have only just realised that animals laugh - I know our budgie had a sense of humour. Jo Studies find animals capable of laughter > > > No Joke: Animals Laugh, Too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 i think its even more then that sure...ppl and organizations get bought off..money talks but.. in the same vein...ppl don't wanna listen its easier to bury what makes you feel uncomfortable ecology1st2004 Apr 2, 2005 9:09 PM Re: Studies find animals capable of laughter it's probably because the meat and dairy industry has so much moneytheyre able to keep animal intelligence stories out the the corporatemedia. Wouldnt doubt it anyway. Sick world.Rick , "Jo Cwazy" <heartwork@c...> wrote:> I wonder why they have only just realised that animals laugh - Iknow our> budgie had a sense of humour.> > Jo> > Studies find animals capable of laughter> > > >> >> > No Joke: Animals Laugh, TooTo send an email to - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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