一項(xiàng)醫(yī)學(xué)研究顯示，人聽(tīng)到笑話時(shí)的腦部活動(dòng)與聽(tīng)到普通話語(yǔ)時(shí)不同,。研究人員說(shuō),，希望借助這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)確認(rèn)“植物人”能否感受開(kāi)心。
英國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)研究委員會(huì)下屬認(rèn)知能力和腦部科學(xué)部門(mén)的研究人員使用功能性核磁共振成像技術(shù),，對(duì)比正常人在聽(tīng)到普通話語(yǔ)和聽(tīng)到笑話時(shí)的腦部活動(dòng),。
研究人員掃描12名志愿者的腦部發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)人聽(tīng)到笑話時(shí),，大腦部分區(qū)域的活動(dòng)比“處理”正常話語(yǔ)時(shí)強(qiáng)烈,；笑話越好笑，腦部反應(yīng)越大,。
參與研究的馬特·戴維斯在一份聲明里說(shuō)：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了人聽(tīng)到俏皮話時(shí)的腦部活動(dòng)規(guī)律,。”
戴維斯介紹，研究人員打算利用這項(xiàng)研究成果,，嘗試性了解缺乏溝通能力的人群是否能“聽(tīng)懂”笑話,。
研究成果6月28日發(fā)表在《神經(jīng)科學(xué)期刊》上。戴維斯的研究小組說(shuō),，他們可能利用這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)協(xié)助確認(rèn)“植物人”能否感受到開(kāi)心等正面情緒,，輔助了解病人的思想狀態(tài)。
“我們先前使用功能性核磁共振成像技術(shù)檢測(cè)‘植物人’的語(yǔ)言理解能力,，我們可以使用類(lèi)似方法在病人腦部尋找積極情緒,，”研究小組成員特里斯坦·貝金施滕說(shuō),，“對(duì)病人家屬而言,，這非常重要。他們想知道病人在不幸中能否感受快樂(lè)和歡笑,。”（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
The Journal of Neuroscience doi: 10.1523/?JNEUROSCI.5058-10.2011
Why Clowns Taste Funny: The Relationship between Humor and Semantic Ambiguity
Tristan A. Bekinschtein, Matthew H. Davis, Jennifer M. Rodd, and Adrian M. Owen
What makes us laugh? One crucial component of many jokes is the disambiguation of words with multiple meanings. In this functional MRI study of normal participants, the neural mechanisms that underlie our experience of getting a joke that depends on the resolution of semantically ambiguous words were explored. Jokes that contained ambiguous words were compared with sentences that contained ambiguous words but were not funny, as well as to matched verbal jokes that did not depend on semantic ambiguity. The results confirm that both the left inferior temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus are involved in processing the semantic aspects of language comprehension, while a more widespread network that includes both of these regions and the temporoparietal junction bilaterally is involved in processing humorous verbal jokes when compared with matched nonhumorous material. In addition, hearing jokes was associated with increased activity in a network of subcortical regions, including the amygdala, the ventral striatum, and the midbrain, that have been implicated in experiencing positive reward. Moreover, activity in these regions correlated with the subjective ratings of funniness of the presented material. These results allow a more precise account of how the neural and cognitive processes that are involved in ambiguity resolution contribute to the appreciation of jokes that depend on semantic ambiguity.
