title: Individual differences in laughter perception reveal roles for mentalizing and sensorimotor systems in the evaluation of emotional authenticity.
abstract: Humans express laughter differently depending on the context: polite titters of agreement are very different from explosions of mirth. Using functional MRI, we explored the neural responses during passive listening to authentic amusement laughter and controlled, voluntary laughter. We found greater activity in anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC) to the deliberate, Emitted Laughs, suggesting an obligatory attempt to determine others' mental states when laughter is perceived as less genuine. In contrast, passive perception of authentic Evoked Laughs was associated with greater activity in bilateral superior temporal gyri. An individual differences analysis found that greater accuracy on a post hoc test of authenticity judgments of laughter predicted the magnitude of passive listening responses to laughter in amPFC, as well as several regions in sensorimotor cortex (in line with simulation accounts of emotion perception). These medial prefrontal and sensorimotor sites showed enhanced positive connectivity with cortical and subcortical regions during listening to involuntary laughter, indicating a complex set of interacting systems supporting the automatic emotional evaluation of heard vocalizations.
authors: Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: McGettigan
authors: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Walsh
authors: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Jessop
authors: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
authors: Z K
authors: ZK
authors: Agnew
authors: Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA Amsterdam, Netherlands and.
authors: D A
authors: DA
authors: Sauter
authors: Department of Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK.
authors: J E
authors: JE
authors: Warren
authors: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
authors: S K
authors: SK
authors: Scott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007845:Laughter / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: emotion; functional MRI; laughter; medial prefrontal cortex; sensorimotor cortex
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