Editor’s Note: The following article originally appeared in the College of Arts and Sciences 2024 Fall Alumni Magazine.

While there are thousands of languages throughout the world, there is one form of communication common to all: laughter. Why? Laughter makes us feel good, increasing the brain’s production of endorphins and boosting mood.

“Humor is essential for easing interpersonal tensions, reducing stress, relieving physical and emotional suffering and even improving the body’s immune response,” says Lauren Mavica, associate teaching professor of neuroscience in A&S.

While the relationship between laughter and the brain is not fully understood, scientists know that emotional responses are largely the function of the brain’s largest region, the frontal lobe, as well as the motor cortex, which controls muscles. Here is what we do know:

Laughter Serves a Social Function

Laughing is a way for us to signal to another person that we wish to connect with them. According to social psychologist Laura Machia, professor of psychology and associate dean for academic initiatives and curriculum in A&S, laughter affirms a shared connection.

That’s why people frequently list “the ability to make me laugh” as a top quality they seek in a romantic partner. “Laughter seems to improve communication and makes people feel like they’re kind of bonded,” says Machia.

And probably why we’re 30% more likely to laugh in a group and enjoy funny movies or stand-up comedy.

“The act of laughing in a group seems to affirm a shared value or shared experience, which is really important for humans in terms of feeling connected,” says Machia.

There’s a physical reaction behind that. A study of PET scans taken 30 minutes after subjects watched laughter-inducing comedy with close friends found that social laughter increased pleasurable sensations and triggered endorphin release in the brain while elevating pain thresholds.

Laughter Has Healing Powers

That’s a big reason humor is often used therapeutically, ranging from watching movies or clown doctors, to humor training, such as stand-up comedy skills.

“Humor-based therapeutic interventions improve numerous psychological factors across a wide range of populations, including healthy people, geriatric patients and individuals with mental disorders,” says Mavica. “These interventions have been effective in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms, improving self-esteem and boosting social and communication skills.”

At Syracuse University’s Gebbie Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, humor is used therapeutically with clients living with conditions that impact language processing and production. People with aphasia, for example, lose the ability to
retrieve language.

“Not being able to communicate is frustrating and affects a person’s self-esteem,” says Ramani Voleti, associate teaching professor of communication sciences and disorders in A&S. “We start group therapy sessions for people with aphasia with memes and jokes as a way to temporarily deflect issues they have with communication, to have fun and to build relationships. This sets the tone for the rest of the session.”

Voleti says those who suffer stroke on the right frontotemporal regions of the brain often do not understand or appreciate subtle humor such as puns or idioms because that’s the part of the brain that processes multiple meanings.

“The part that’s affected doesn’t come back, but with consistent practice and therapy, new neural connections can be built in other parts of the brain,” she says.

As the saying goes, laughter is indeed the best medicine.