Université de Fribourg

Laughter is in the air: Involvement of key nodes of the emotional motor system in the anticipation of tickling

Wattendorf, Elise ; Westermann, Birgit ; Fiedler, Klaus ; Ritz, Simone ; Redmann, Annetta ; Pfannmöller, Jörg ; Lotze, Martin ; Celio, Marco R

In: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2019, p. -

In analogy to the appreciation of humor, that of tickling is based upon the re- interpretation of an anticipated emotional situation. Hence, the anticipation of tickling contributes to the final outburst of ticklish laughter. To localize the neuronal substrates of this process, fMRI was conducted on 31 healthy volunteers. The state of anticipation was simulated by generating an uncertainty...