Meta-analysis: The amygdala is significantly involved in the ha-ha experience of decoding punchlines

Humor and emotion: Quantitative meta analyses of functional neuroimaging studies. Andrew H. Farkas et al. Cortex, March 11 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.023

Highlights

• Large meta-analysis of brain activation driven by humor versus control stimuli.

• Humor activates areas linked with language, theory of mind, & knowledge integration.

• Humor cue modality (picture, text, laughter) modulates brain network activation.

• Complex humor activates supramodal areas of the brain associated with emotion.

Abstract: Humor is a ubiquitous aspect of human behavior that is infrequently the focus of neuroscience research. To localize human brain structures associated with the experience of humor, we conducted quantitative activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta analyses of 57 fMRI studies (n=1248) reporting enhanced regional brain activity evoked by humorous cues versus matched control cues. We performed separate ALE analyses of studies that employed picture-driven, text-based, and auditory laughter cues to evoke humor. A primary finding was that complex humor activates supramodal areas of the brain strongly associated with emotional processes, including bilateral amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, activation in brain regions associated with language, semantic knowledge, and theory of mind were differentially modulated by text and picture-driven humor cues, while hearing laughter enhances activation in auditory association cortex. The identification of humor-driven brain networks has the potential to expand brain-derived models of human emotion and could provide useful targets in translational research and therapy.

Keywords: humorhumouremotionmeta-analysishumanneuroimaging