Social cognition
How does the brain process different types of jokes?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Different types of jokes activate distinct brain networks depending on whether they require imagining others' thoughts or using executive control to handle exaggerations and language ambiguities.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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Neurological structures, such as the corpus callosum, play an essential role in processing complex social cognitive tasks, while specific brain networks like the temporo-parietal junction are actively recruited during mentalizing tasks like inferring intentions.
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Study at a glance
- Design
- Human experiment — fMRI while rating joke funniness as a ToM-related social judgment
- N
- N=27 · Right-handed native Mandarin speakers, 16 women, ages 21–29
- Population
- Healthy young Taiwanese adults without neurological or psychiatric history
- Outcome
- Temporo-parietal and fronto-parietal fMRI activity during theory-of-mind–related humor judgments
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How does the brain process different types of jokes?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
27 right-handed native Mandarin speakers
Twenty-seven right-handed native Mandarin speakers (16 females) with no history of neurological or psychiatric problems participated in this study.
40 verbal jokes
While in the scanner, each participant was presented with 40 verbal jokes and 40 corresponding non-joke baseline stimuli.
Key findings
Bridging-inference jokes triggered increased activity in the temporo-parietal junction and middle temporal gyrus, which are regions linked to inferring others' intentions. In contrast, exaggeration jokes activated fronto-parietal regions like the inferior parietal lobule and the right inferior frontal gyrus, alongside the emotional hub of the amygdala. Ambiguity jokes specifically engaged the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus, while all three joke types shared a common pathway involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior cingulate cortex.
Methodology
The researchers scanned 27 right-handed Mandarin-speaking participants using fMRI while they read 40 verbal jokes and 40 matched non-joke baselines. The jokes were split into three categories based on how the humor is resolved: bridging-inference jokes, exaggeration jokes, and semantic ambiguity jokes. Participants rated how funny they found each story by choosing from four options during the scan.
Limitations
The study relied entirely on right-handed, young adult native Mandarin speakers aged 21 to 29, meaning the findings may not apply to other languages, age brackets, or cultures. Because the fMRI paradigm measured brain activity during passive reading followed by immediate rating, it is difficult to isolate the exact timing of incongruity detection versus resolution. Additionally, the study used fewer exaggeration jokes due to strict exclusion criteria, which could limit the statistical comparison between the joke categories.
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