Implications of the Rotman/University of Toronto study go beyond the localization of humor. Historically, the right frontal lobe was seen as a "silent brain region" that was not important in mediating higher cognitive functions.
"Through studies such as this one, we have evidence that the frontal region plays a critical role in higher cognitive functions such as humor, emotions and personality," says Dr. Stuss. "It receives information from almost all other brain regions and integrates multiple types of information."
The ability to understand and produce humor requires the concerted functioning of several cognitive processes: working memory (holding a piece of information in mind while you manipulate it); cognitive shifting (looking at a situation in different ways or from different perspectives) and abstract thinking.
Damage to the frontal lobes has been historically related to changes in personality, with striking effects on a personrquote s ability to tell jokes and respond to humor. Such individuals often exhibit silly euphoric behavior, inappropriate laughter, and have an addiction to telling jokes that are usually inappropriate in content.
The Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care is an academic centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. The study was supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada.
A joke and punch line similar to one used in the Humor Study
A teenager is being interviewed for a summer job.
"You'll get 50 dollars a week to start off", says his boss. "Then after a month you'll get a raise to 75 dollars a week."
Punch Line Selection: