* What makes something funny?

* Can the science behind what makes us laugh teach us something about how to make better decisions, or how to getting along better with others?

* Why do some people find things offensive that others find hilarious?

* What factors influence humor and can they be altered for desirable outcomes?

* Can the brain recover from major damage and how plastic is it?

All these questions and many more are studied using experiments and FMRI brain scans at the Goel Neuroscience Lab at Toronto's York University to unlock the role of emotion in decision-making, mental systems, and human behavior.

Scroll down to click the LISTEN button.

Dr. Vinod Goel is my guest today. He is a neuroscientist of note, but he is currently on sabbatical in Zurich, so he will not likely be joining us for our LIVE discussion portion on humor on October 13.

Enjoy my recorded conversation with him for the podcast and scroll down for shownotes.

Caleb Warren, behavioral researcher from the Humor Research Lab, with Pete McGraw author of the Humor Code,  is stepping in to answer your questions and discus the science of humor on October 13 HERE. (or click to watch the replay)

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SHOWNOTES

MIN

1:30

The way the brain understands a joke works the same way any mental set shifts work. By studying what the brain does with humor, we can understand how the brain understands and perceives the world in symbols, language, abstraction, and in social contexts. Using FMRI scans that study of the brain has revealed some interesting and surprising findings.

3:00

Basic jokes rely on non verbal set ups that become funny when the expectation is not met and advance jokes are semantical and often involve a shift in thinking about a social norm.

4:30

Why uneducated people get offended at jokes.

6:30

Physical humor and language-based humor. It depends on triggers.

7:20

Study show that tickling rats cause a kind of laughing response. Are they REALLY laughing?

8:20

How are humor develops, starting in childhood and moving toward abstract concepts. The social context and the semantic network of association develop to understand much more.

10:40

His study of the role of emotion in reason and decision-making.

The impetus was watching American politics.

12:30

The manipulation of emotion in advertisements to bring people to an illogical conclusion. Different portions of the brain are not used that would help make a good and logical decision.

14:00

Arguments laden with emotion don’t engage the reasoning part of the brain found in the left dorsal lethal prefront...