Do you know why English and Chinese languages affect dyslexia differently?

Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness:

Millions of children worldwide are affected by dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that can include problems in reading, spelling, writing and pronouncing words. According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 8 to 15 percent of the students worldwide (if not more) suffer from this problem.

But very recently an interesting finding, reported in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, opened up a new angle to look at the problem on the whole - Dyslexia affects different parts of children's brains depending on whether they are raised reading English or Chinese.

"This finding was very surprising to us. We had not ever thought that dyslexics' brains are different for children who read in English and Chinese," said lead author Li-Hai Tan, a professor of linguistics and brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Hong Kong. "Our finding yields neurobiological clues to the cause of dyslexia."

Reading an alphabetic language like English requires different skills than reading Chinese, which relies less on sound representation, using symbols to represent words.

Past studies have suggested that the brain may use different networks of neurons in different languages, but none has suggested a difference in the structural parts of the brain involved.

Tan's research group studied the brains of students raised reading Chinese, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. They then compared those findings with similar studies of the brains of students raised reading English.

The research speculates that different genes may be involved in dyslexia in Chinese and English readers. The new findings suggest that treating Chinese speakers with dyslexia may use working memory tasks and tests relating to sensor-motor skills, while current treatments of English dyslexia focus on letter-sound conversions and sound awareness.

In their paper, the researchers noted that imaging studies of the brains of dyslexic children using alphabetic languages like English have identified unusual function and structure in the left temporo-parietal areas, thought to be involved in letter-to-sound conversions in reading; left middle-superior temporal cortex, thought to be involved in speech sound analysis, and the left inferior temporo-occipital gyrus, which may function as a quick word-form recognition system. When they performed similar imaging studies on dyslexic Chinese youngsters, on the other hand, they found disruption in a different area, the left middle frontal gyrus region.

If anything, this new research finding will help treating this learning disability, more scientifically and the therapists may now seek different methods of assisting dyslexic children from different cultures.

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Do you know why we need to sleep?

Prof. Know Why answers:

There are conflicting theories about the “purpose of sleep” – that is, why do we need to sleep? But the fact that we spend about eight hours asleep of every 24 hours, suggests that there are powerful evolutionary reasons for its continuing existence. Most theories center on the beneficial effects that sleep has on the brain. This is because; there is little evidence of any direct physiological effects on the body. Some scientists believe that sleep is a time for the immune system to regenerate, while one theory suggests that sleep evolved as a way of coping with limited supplies of food.

The dominant theory is that sleep is a time for the brain to store memory. The idea is that during sleep the brain, in effect, goes offline to file the events of the day. Another theory is that the brain is a complex organ that needs the downtime provided by sleep to recover from the stresses of waking hours. “While we are awake, the higher centers of the brain are working flat out,” says Professor Jim Horne, who runs the sleep laboratory at Loughborough University. “Even when you are lying down, the brain is in a state of quiet readiness, ready to respond. The only time it can rest is during sleep.”

Neuroscientists argue that at least one vital function of sleep is bound up with learning and memory. A cascade of new findings, in animals and humans, suggest that sleep plays a critical role in flagging and storing important memories, both intellectual and physical, and perhaps in seeing subtle connections that were invisible during waking.

In a study which was published last year, the participants were given an exercise to study pairs of Easter eggs on a computer screen and memorize a day later, how the computer has arranged them. The researchers at Harvard and McGill Universities, who conducted the study, reported that participants who slept after playing this game scored significantly higher on a retest than those who did not sleep. While asleep they apparently figured out what they didn’t while awake - the structure of the simple hierarchy that linked the pairs.

“We think what’s happening during sleep is that you open the aperture of memory and are able to see this bigger picture,” said the study’s senior author, Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist who is now at the University of California, Berkeley. He added that many such insights occur “only when you enter this wonder-world of sleep”.

Researchers, who champion these brain theories, point to the fact that behavior changes significantly with sleeplessness. A person who is lacking sleep takes more risks, has slower mental processes and reacts to events with more emotion and less logic. One theory is that brain circuitry needs to be repaired and maintained regularly and that when this maintenance work is not carried out during sleep, the workings go awry, with communications slowing down or being wrongly routed, if you don’t get enough sleep.

So, how much sleep do you need? Some researches suggest that while seven to eight hours a night is healthy, under five hours or more than eight is unhealthy, and linked to disorders such as heart disease, depression, diabetes and high blood pressure.

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Do you know why people are straight or gay?

Prof. Know Why answers:

There has always been a debate about the reasons of a person’s sexual orientation - Is sexual orientation something people are born with or a matter of choice? Well, in the latest study that is bound to re-ignite the debate, it is weighed more on the side of genetics.

So, why are people straight or gay? Researchers at McMaster University and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have found new evidence that shows that your genes are what make you straight or gay. Led by neuroscientist Sandra Witelson, the study scanned the brains of healthy, right-handed homosexual and heterosexual men using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

A decade back, Witelson had demonstrated that there are more left-handers in the homosexual population. Handedness is a sign of how the brain is organized to represent different aspects of intelligence. Language, for example, is usually on the left and music on the right. In other researches, Witelson had also found that left-handers have a larger posterior corpus callosum (the band of nerve fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain) than right-handers.

This raised the hypothesis for the current study - whether the anatomy of the brain of the sub-group of right-handed homosexual men is similar to that of left-handers. The researchers found that the posterior part of the corpus callosum is larger in homosexual than heterosexual men. As the size of the corpus callosum is largely inherited, it suggested a genetic factor in sexual orientation.

“Our results do not mean that heredity is destiny, but they do indicate that environment is not the only player in the field,” said Witelson. The finding may be one additional piece of information for individuals trying to determine their sexual orientation as “sometimes people aren't sure of their sexual orientation”, added Witelson.

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Do you know why curvaceous women produce smart kids?

Prof. Know Why answers:

With a legion of male admirers, curvaceous Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz may brighten up the screen, every time they popup, but a new academic study suggests that their appeal, and that of other curvy and well-endowed women, is based on more than just the purely physical aspect.

Scientific studies have consistently demonstrated that men through the ages have found women with hourglass figures more attractive. According to a study published last year, even the ancient Egyptian men have sought out curvaceous women. Although the reasons for the attraction have never been conclusively proven, many scientists believed that a shapely figure suggested to a man that a woman would be good at bearing children and have a longer life expectancy.

The new research adds that the buxom beauties are also cleverer. The study, published recently, shows that men who admire women with hourglass figures do so because they are more intelligent and therefore produce more intelligent children than waif-like women or those with "apple-shaped" proportions.

The scientists, from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh, concluded that women with lower waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) produced children with better intellectual abilities.

They found that voluptuous women's hips and thighs contained omega-3 fatty acids, which help nurture both mother and baby's brains during pregnancy. Fat around the waist, however, contains higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which does not help brain growth. "Shapely hips and thighs hold essential nutrients that nurse brains and could produce smart kids, too," said one researcher, Steven Gaulin, of the University of California at Santa Barbara. His colleague, William Lassek, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: "Men respond because it's reproductively important."

The researchers tested 16,000 women and girls and found that women with a greater difference between their waist and hip measurements scored significantly higher in the tests, as did their children. The research suggests that children born to teenagers do worse in cognitive tests because their mothers did not have enough of the omega-3 acids stored in their hips.

So, all you men – now you have got another reason to love curves!

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Do you know why we can’t quit smoking?

Prof. Know Why answers:

We all know and probably believe the health risks associated with smoking tobacco. Even though, the smokers find it really difficult to quit smoking, no matter how hard they try! The nonsmokers would obviously say that the smokers never actually give a serious effort to kick the puff or there’s always a lack of will.

But now, there’s an answer to why people can’t quit smoking, easily. It has been proven through scientific research that someone’s unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking a hundred times over, reasons to the proteins in the brain.

A genetic study of 14,000 people in Europe and the US has shown that variations in segments of two proteins that serve as gateways for nicotine entry into brain cells can predict the risk of addiction. The study by US and Canadian scientists has shown that people with specific gene sequence coding for these proteins are more likely to be addicted to nicotine than people whose sequences are subtly different. The two proteins called “alpha-3” and “alpha-5” form sites on brain cells which are activated during the process of addiction. The findings were published recently in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Previous studies from Australia, North America, Scandinavia and China had indicated that the tendency for habitual heavy smoking (up to 20 cigarettes a day), was influenced by the genetic makeup. Researchers had then estimated that two-thirds of the risk of heavy smoking is genetic – believed to be a combination of several genes.

In the new study, the American-Canadian team found that variations in alpha-3 and alpha-5 could be used to predict the number of cigarettes per day during the period of heaviest smoking. This study has also provided the strongest statistical evidence – although there is no evidence for this yet – that people with certain variations in the alpha-3 and alpha-5 genes might find it easier to quit smoking than others.

So until the pharmaceutical companies come up with the new drugs based on the study that could help quit smoking, the smokers can carry on puffing to glory, blaming it all on the brain proteins.

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Do you know why body temperature rises high during fever?

Prof. Know Why answers:

A healthy person's normal body temperature usually fluctuates between 97°F (36.1°C) and 100°F (37.8°C), with the average being 98.6°F (37°C). When our body temperature rises above 98.6°F, we call it fever. But why does the body temperature rise during fever?

Our normal body temperature is maintained by a regulatory center called the “anterior hypothalamus”, located deep within the brain. This region functions like a thermostat, registering body temperature. The nervous system constantly relays information about the body's temperature to the thermostat, which in turn activates different physical responses designed to cool or warm the body, depending on the circumstances in order to maintain the body temperature at a normal set point.

Fevers are primarily caused by viral or bacterial infections. So, when an infection occurs, fever-inducing agents called pyrogens are released in the bloodstream, either by the body's immune system or by the invading cells themselves. These pyrogens trigger the resetting of the thermostat at a higher level and we thus register a higher body temperature during fever.

To reach a higher temperature from the normal body temperature, the body moves blood to the warmer interior, increasing the metabolic rate, and inducing shivering. The "chills" that often accompany a fever are caused by these movements of blood to the body's core, leaving the surface and extremities cold. Once the higher temperature is achieved, the shivering and chills stop. Again, when the infection is overcome or drugs such as aspirin or acetaminophen are taken, the thermostat resets to normal (i.e. 98.6°F) and the body's cooling mechanisms send the blood back to the surface and sweating occurs.

We often panic when we have high temperature or fever. But on the contrary, fever is an important component of our immune system. Actually, the immune system chemicals that react with the fever-inducing agent and trigger the resetting of the thermostat, increase the production of cells that fight off the invading bacteria or viruses. Higher temperatures also inhibit the growth of some bacteria, accelerating the chemical reactions that help the body cells to repair themselves. In addition, the increased heart rate that may accompany the changes in blood circulation, also speeds up the arrival of white blood cells to the site of infection to fight with the invaders.

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Do you know why older people find it difficult to adapt to new gadgets and technology?

Prof. Know Why answers:

If you notice, you will find that newer and technologically advanced gadgets are mostly, if not always, targeted to the younger generation. Why? If you think - because they have more spending powers, think again! While it might be true and could be one reason, the main reason could very strongly be that older people find it difficult to adapt to new gadgets readily.

But why is that, psychologically predisposed older men and women find it difficult to take to new technology? Scientists claim to have worked out why people in their late 40s and 50s have to get their children to load their iPods for them. The older you get the more difficult it is for your conscious mind to override years of “pre-programming”, they say. Combined with damaging physical changes in the cell structure of the brain – the result of natural ageing and maybe a little alcohol – the effects can be, at best, confusing.

The research may explain why even people in early middle age find it difficult to use an iPod, or surf on their Black Berry, when their children take to new technology almost instinctively.

Lauren Potter, a lecturer in applied psychology at Heriot-Watt, and Madeleine Grealy, senior lecturer in psychology at Strathclyde, both in the UK, recruited two groups of 130 volunteers – one between the ages of 20 and 50 and the other over 60. They discovered that those in the upper age group found it increasingly hard to carry out daily tasks in new ways as did those aged 40 or above.

“The answer may be that older people are psychologically predisposed to find it harder than youngsters to override established ways of doing things”, said Grealy. “They will find it harder to adapt to digital TV, drive a new car with unfamiliar controls and use other modern tools and utensils.”

Potter believes certain actions, such as twisting rather than pulling and pushing taps, become deeply ingrained in the brain over time. When confronted with new devices or technology, the brain tries to adapt but is held back if there are physical changes in the frontal lobe area.

So, if you fall in this older-generation category like me, and find your son’s latest “Apple notebook” confusing, don’t think yourself, stupid! It’s only your age that has taken its toll!

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Do you know why we are humans?

Prof. Know Why answers:

This heading, “why we are humans” may sound weird, unless explained. There are so many different species living on earth, some, even being gigantic and physically immense powerful, but we, humans rule the planet Earth, in spite of being so tiny little beings! We have either tamed all the fierce and threatening species or put them in enclosures according to our whishes and requirements. And only we study them through various researches and it’s not the other way round. All these prove that we are the most powerful of the species. What makes us supreme? It’s sheer intelligence!

But why and how are we humans more intelligent than others? Researches have proved time and again, that it’s all in the brain. We humans have more advanced and bigger brain. When comparing different species, brain size does present a correlation with intelligence. For example the ratio of brain weight to body weight for fish is 1:5000; for reptiles it’s about 1:1500; for birds, 1:220; for most mammals, 1:180, and for humans, it’s 1:50. Modern studies among people, using brain scans have shown that brain size shows a rough correlation with IQ among adults of the same sex. The brain is also a metabolically expensive organ, and consumes about 25% of the body's energy.

Recently, scientists have identified a gene that controls the size of the brain, a finding that will give an insight into what it means to be human. The research team in Edinburgh has found that when the newly identified gene is faulty, the brain and body shrink as a result. Dr. Andrew Jackson and colleagues at the MRC Genome Damage and Stablity Centre studied families who have members with Seckel syndrome that retards growth in the womb, leading to short stature and a markedly reduced brain size (microcephaly).

The study noted that small brain size is linked to faults in a gene called PCNT. This gene works with another gene linked to the condition called ATR, which is again involved in DNA repair. The PCNT gene is responsible for the manufacture of a protein in the body called pericentrin, a component of the centrosome that is essential for the process of cell division that underpins growth. Other genes involved in the working of the centrosome have previously been found to be mutated in different forms of microcephaly, suggesting that it is essential for determining brain size.

So, it’s the size of the brain which is controlled by gene that makes us human, as larger brains and not bodies are associated with higher intelligence.

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Do you know why playing with blocks helps children?

Prof. Know Why answers:

Playing with blocks helps young children gain language skills, a recent study says. It was found that after six months, language scores among half of 175 children aged 1½ to 2½ years who were sent plastic blocks were 15% higher than a matched group that did not receive the free blocks, according to the study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.

For the research, parents were given ideas about how to help their children play with the blocks. They also maintained diaries of their children’s activities over the time period. Finally, all the parents filled out questionnaires that assessed their child’s vocabulary, grammar, and other language abilities. The study proved again - which was believed over years that unstructured play with blocks, stimulates thinking, memory and physical mastery of objects at a time when a child’s brain is growing rapidly.

So young mothers, just make sure that your toddlers, apart from other fancy playing tools, are encouraged to play with blocks to enhance their intelligence level. After all, who doesn’t want her kid to be ahead of the rest?

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Do you know why dark chocolates are beneficial?

Prof. Know Why answers:

Chocolates are always yummy, delicious and irresistible, especially with girls and kids. And now, they also seem to be beneficial for your health because a daily dose of yummy dark chocolate may help patients suffering from the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Serotonin (a brain chemical related to CFS) is believed to play an important role in the regulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, vomiting, appetite and fatigue. According to scientists from Hull York Medical School, dark chocolates have been found to lower levels of serotonin. The research team said that patients with CFS, found that their symptoms were reduced when they consumed dark chocolate, much more so when they consumed milk chocolate that had brown dye added to it. The researchers noted that patients taking dark chocolate reported significantly less fatigue when they started eating the sweet. They also reported more fatigue when they stopped eating it. The scientists, however, stressed that the quantity of dark chocolate consumed should be moderate.

Endocrinologists say, dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, which have been associated with health benefits, like reduction in blood pressure. Also, high polyphenols appear to improve levels of serotonin in the brain , which has been linked with CFS.

According to doctors and nutritionists, cocoa is rich in antioxidant properties and so consuming dark chocolate can over stimulate the nervous system, helping reducing fatigue.

So cheer up all you girls and chocolate lovers – now you have reasons to gorge on your favorite dark chocolates.

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Do you know why daydreaming is good?

Prof. Know Why answers:

Call it woolgathering, but we all love to steal away from real life to indulge in roving thoughts or daydreaming. But what is daydreaming or rather, how do we define daydreaming? Daydreaming or mind-wandering - familiar to one and all, is more precisely defined as a state of mind where thoughts that are experienced by an individual are unrelated to what is going on in the environment around them.

Let’s see why and when we daydream? In the recent studies, researchers found that our minds often wander fancifully while we are engaged in familiar tasks, such as making a sandwich or doing a regular household work, because we don't need to concentrate on it. They observed that daydreaming could be the result of the brain mulling over important - but not immediately relevant - issues when the external environment ceases to pose interesting and engaging.

Scientists now have identified the regions of the brain responsible for our ability to daydream. A default network of cortical regions, including parts of the medial prefrontal cortex (involved in executive functions), the premotor cortex (which coordinates body movements), and the cingulate (part of the limbic system that is implicated in memory and learning) are said to be active when we daydream.

The studies claim that daydreaming relieves stress and those who daydream, can often be great problem-solvers as daydreaming improves thinking. History says it all – while Sir Isaac Newton sat under the apple tree daydreaming, gravity did its work! Therefore, it could be concluded, daydreaming is good as it is a look at the positive side-effects of the wandering mind. And the best part is, it can be done anywhere and at any hour.

So what are you waiting for?

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Do you know why you should drink?

Prof. Know Why answers:

Drinking had been always associated with forgetfulness until recently, as a new research has overruled this age old theory. A glass or two of wine can boost our ability to remember, says a new study. Scientists have found that moderate amounts of alcohol challenge the brain and it responds by improving the memory.

The findings rubbished the notion of drinking to forget, as they also show drinking enough to exceed the limit for driving means you are more likely to remember the embarrassment of an unrestrained spell – from making an indecent proposal to dancing without your trousers on. Contrary to popular belief, it has also been found that excessive levels of alcohol even enhanced memories of highly emotional stimuli. In fact, heavy drinking actually reinforces negative memories.

But moderate levels of alcohol consumption, equivalent to one or two of wine a day, enhance memory on the whole. Researchers suggest - just like the best way to build strength in a muscle is to challenge the muscle, moderate levels of alcohol challenge the brain and it responds by improving memory.

So alcoholics, you get yet another excuse to rejoice and celebrate! Cheers!

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Do you know why we blush?

Prof. Know Why answers:

We all experience that deep rush of pink to the face known as blushing, sometime or the other. It happens when we are embarrassed, anxious, angry, ashamed, guilty or receiving unwanted attention. Blushing means we are uncomfortable. Along with that normally goes an avoidance of eye contact with others and a glowing or tingling sensation over the entire body.

But why do we blush when we are embarrassed? Well, blushing is a nervous reaction that triggers tiny blood vessels in the skin to widen. This allows more blood to flow to the skin, causing the reddening.

Scientifically, blushing begins with an emotion - usually one associated with self-consciousness. A confused state of mind then acts upon the sympathetic nervous system. From there, the vasodilators (parasympathetic nerve fibers) are stimulated which causes the peripheral capillaries to expand. As a result, more blood flows to the surface of the face and neck, resulting in the reddening of the face and neck.

Sometimes people may not blush visibly, but may react differently, like tapping their fingers noisily or clearing their throat. Blushing is associated more with the young and inexperienced, rather than the aged. And, it has also been observed that women blush more readily than men do.

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Do you know why broken heart can be fatal?

Prof. Know Why answers:

You feel great when you are in love and it shows, because your health glows. But why and how does your health react in case of an undesired break-up? Scientists say, intense stress caused by bereavement can make someone ‘die of a broken heart’.

While it has always been suspected that emotional problems can put the heart under pressure, this was believed to have been caused by ‘primitive’ brain regions, such as the brain stem sending messages to heart tissue. Bereavement has been one such unexplained problem.

Researchers say, that in such a situation, the regions of the brain responsible for learning, memory and emotion can destabilize the cardiac muscle of someone who already has heart disease. So, when we are under stress like this, the ‘higher regions’ of the brain take part in a vicious circle of activity which can trigger harmful rhythms in the heart.

Doctors say, the activity in ‘higher level’ regions, such as the cortex make the heart to stress, often worsening the situation. And thus, the brain areas responsible for regulating heart function can be unbalanced, which in turn can increase the risk of sudden death through cardiac arrest.

So now, do you know why broken heart can be fatal? Just take care and take things easy, if and when you are going through such a situation in life!

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Do you know why we fall in love?

Prof. Know Why answers:

When you are young, passion is so strong that it’s almost impossible to stop loving someone! But ever thought why this happens? Well, it’s all in the brain. First comes initial attraction, the spark. Then comes the wild dizzying infatuation of romance – a unique magic between two people who can’t stop thinking about each other. The brain uses its chemical arsenal to focus our attention on one person, forsaking all others - say research scientists.

The brain in its first phase of love is much like a brain on drugs, i.e. the cravings and pleasure unleashed are as strong as any drug. And certain regions in the brain are deactivated, such as within the ‘amygdala’, associated with fear. That’s why you can do many insane things, when in love.

All these ‘falling for’ episodes are actually the effects of conflicting reactions of the front brain and the middle brain. The front brain is believed to be the logical thinker, with reasoning and experience. So while the front brain is lecturing you about the flirtatious nature of the girl and telling you that she is the wrong person for a long time steady relationship, the middle brain is awed by her sexy thighs, deep cleavage and her come-hither stare.

And alas, when it comes to choosing mates, even smart neurons in the brain can make dumb choices. So if the owner of the brain is in 20s, all bets are off. But if the brain’s owner is in his 40s he might think twice about that cleavage baring temptress, and might listen to his front brain.

So who would you like to listen to – the middle or the front brain?

Post your experiences – how you feel when you are in love?

Do you know why we cry?

Prof. Know Why explains:

Women cry 64 times a year on average, while men just 17, says a recent study. Actors and politicians do it on demand though! But why does crying happen in the first place?

When we become upset, our brains and bodies overreact and work overtime, producing chemicals and hormones. Crying helps eliminate t,hese extra chemicals that we don't need, in the form of tears. These tears are formed in tiny glands present in the upper eyelids of our eyes, called lachrymal glands.

Scientifically, emotional tears contain high levels of manganese and a chemical called prolactin.

As our tears flow, they sooth our sadness or distress by disposing of these chemical agents. That is why generally, we feel calmer or more refreshed after crying, because the tears get rid of these hormones that are produced when we are sad, happy, or distressed.

Do you know why we laugh?

Prof. Know Why explains:

The reasons we laugh, including ‘contagious’ laughter, may be products of evolution. Natural laughter is a two-part, spontaneous, response to humor, that has physiological, psychological, and physical benefits. Most agree that we laugh when we find something to be humorous, though different reasons exist for what we find to be humorous. Additionally, different things are humorous to us at different stages of life.

Laughter, a physiological response to humor, can be broken down into two parts. The first is a set of gestures, and the second is the production of sound. The brain forces to conduct both responses simultaneously.

From a physiological standpoint, a ‘sensor’ in the brain responds to laughter by triggering other neural circuits in the brain, which, in turn, generate more laughter. Oddly enough, laughter is an orderly response, and almost occurs spontaneously during pauses at the end of phrases, earning it the name the ‘punctuation effect’. Human beings are the only species capable of laughter, and an average adult does so approximately 17 times per day.

Scientists say that laughing is a great exercise and estimates that laughing 100 times is equivalent to a 10-minute workout on a rowing machine, or 15 minutes on a stationary exercise bike.