Journal of Neurology and Psychology
Research Article
Humour, Mirth, or Laughter in Neurology, Nervous Disorders and Diseases
Venkatesan S1*, Ranganatha PR2, Yashodhara Kumar GY3 and Lancy D’Souza4
*Address for Correspondence: S. Venkatesan, Formerly Dean-Research, Professor & Head, Department
of Clinical Psychology, All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Manasagangotri, Mysore: 570006, Karnataka, India, Email: psyconindia@gmail.com
Submission: October 16, 2022
Accepted: May 08, 2023
Published: May 12, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Venkatesan S, et al. This is an open access article
distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Pathological Laughter; Brain-Behaviour; Therapeutic Humour;
Gelatology
Abstract
The available research on humor, mirth, or laughter in neurology,
nervous disorders, and diseases is sparse and fragmented. This review
attempts to collect, collate, and evaluate available evidence
afresh in this research paper. Although descriptive, the included
literature covers around eighty peer-reviewed published articles
written exclusively on the chosen theme. The anatomical, organic,
evolutionary, and functional basis is delineated before specific
neurological disease conditions are invoked to understand how
humor is believed to be generated, appreciated, or can be even
used as an adjunct form of therapy to ameliorate these conditions. The
opportunities and challenges for humor research in the contemporary
scenario for neurology are summarized with a plea for more empirical
work in this direction.