Humans are not the only animals who have the ability to laugh. Smiling and laughing have been observed in non-human primate species during social play. This type of behavioral response serves as a signal to the group by spreading positive emotions, decreasing stress, and contributing to the cohesiveness of the group.

    Humor-evoked laughter in humans can be divided into these stages. When listening to a joke, the first part of the humor is the punch line, an incongruous ending. Second, your mind begins to problem-solve in order to interpret this incongruity or surprise. Finally, the brain is able to appreciate these steps, which together form humor and evoke a response of laughter.

    The neurotransmitter dopamine (a brain chemical) is responsible for allowing the brain to progress through the stages of humor. Dopamine allows us to feel good when we laugh. Some studies have demonstrated an improvement in health for chronically ill patients when they are exposed to funny stimuli. Thus the old adage “Laughter is the best medicine" probably has a note of truth in it. 

    并不是只有人類(lèi)能夠笑。在靈長(zhǎng)目類(lèi)的社會(huì)活動(dòng)中可以觀察到它們會(huì)微笑和大笑。這樣的行為可以作為一種信號(hào),來(lái)對(duì)自己的群體傳遞積極的情緒,降低壓力,還有助于增加群體的凝聚力。

    在人類(lèi)社會(huì)中,由幽默引起的笑可以分為三個(gè)階段。當(dāng)聽(tīng)一個(gè)笑話(huà)時(shí),幽默的第一部分是一個(gè)巧妙的不合常規(guī)的結(jié)尾。第二,你的頭腦開(kāi)始為了解釋這個(gè)不合常規(guī)或者出乎意料而思考。最后,你的大腦能夠欣賞這些過(guò)程,這些過(guò)程一起構(gòu)成了幽默并引發(fā)了笑。

    神經(jīng)傳遞介質(zhì)多巴胺(腦部一種化學(xué)物質(zhì))在人腦感受幽默的過(guò)程中起了作用。當(dāng)我們笑的時(shí)候,多巴胺讓我們感覺(jué)心情很好。一些研究已經(jīng)證實(shí)當(dāng)慢性病病人接觸有趣的刺激物時(shí),他們的健康會(huì)有逐步的改善。所以這句諺語(yǔ)“笑是最好的藥物”也許有事實(shí)為證。