Neural substrates associated with humor processing
TL;DR: A two-component neural circuit model of humor processing and a key region important in pleasurable feelings accompanied by humor are demonstrated.
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Abstract: Humor is composed of a cognitive element related to the detection of humor and an affective element related to the appreciation of humor. To investigate activated areas of the brain related to the two components of humor and to identify neural substrates associated with the degree of humor intensity, 13 participants were scanned while watching cartoons. While watching humorous scenes, various areas of the brain were activated, including (1) the inferior gyrus, an area involved in reconciling ambiguous semantic content with stored knowledge, and (2) the temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus, brain regions associated with the feeling of mirth. Further, humor intensity was positively correlated with BOLD signal magnitude in the nucleus accumbens, a region known to be involved in psychologically and psychopharmacologically driven rewards. Our findings demonstrate a two-component neural circuit model of humor processing and a key region important in pleasurable feelings accompanied by humor.
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Brain mechanisms for emotional influences on perception and attention: What is magic and what is not
TL;DR: It is suggested that emotion signals may enhance processing efficiency and competitive strength of emotionally significant events through gain control mechanisms similar to those of other attentional systems, but mediated by distinct neural mechanisms in amygdala and interconnected prefrontal areas.
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Establishing the roles of the dorsal and ventral striatum in humor comprehension and appreciation with fMRI.
Margaret T M Prenger,Madeline Gilchrist,Kathryne Van Hedger,Ken N. Seergobin,Adrian M Owen,Penny A MacDonald +5 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that humor comprehension implicates both the dorsal striatum and the ventral striatum, whereas humor appreciation only engages the VS, which establishes the role of the DS in humor comprehension, which has been previously overlooked, and emphasizes the role in humor processing more generally.
The Common and Distinct Cognitive Neuromechanisms Underlying Divergent Thinking and Humor: A Dual-Processing Perspective
Zhou Shujin,Li Aosika,Luo Junlong +2 more
TL;DR: This study, from a dual-processing perspective, reveals convergent and divergent cognitive neuromechanisms underlying divergent thinking and humor, with overlapping neural mechanisms in controlled processing involving widespread frontal and temporal lobe regions.
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