Something funny happened to reward.
The human reward system has been shown to be activated by a wide range of reinforcers, including food, money, sex, drugs, and beauty. Now, a recent fMRI study has found mesolimbic reward activation associated with humorous cartoons, providing a neurobiological link between theories of humour and hedonic processes in the brain.
Berns
Gregory S
GS
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA 30328, USA. gberns@emory.edu <gberns@emory.edu>
D001931:Brain Mapping; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007845:Laughter / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D008032:Limbic System / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000502:physiology*; D012201:Reward; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic / Q000523:psychology*