The role of laughter in human social interactions

Sophie Scott (Director, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL)

In this talk I will explore the neuroscience and evolution of laughter, a positive emotional vocalisation. I will draw parallels between human use of laughter and laugher and play vocalisations in other mammals, and I will also show some distinct differences between humans and other animals. I will explore the neural basis of laughter processing and discuss how this may relate to some individual differences in laughter use and experience.