Laughter

Laughter is a vocal and bodily response marked by characteristic sounds and movements. It can arise from amusement, social interaction, or nervous tension.

Laughter reflex: An involuntary response that produces laughter-like vocal and bodily movements. It helps explain why laughter can emerge without deliberate choice.
Humor: Communication or situations that elicit amusement, often through incongruity or playful surprise. Humor is a common cause of laughter, though the two do not always coincide.
Smiling: A facial expression produced by raising the corners of the mouth, sometimes with other facial changes. Smiling can express amusement without the sounds and bodily bursts of laughter.
Duchenne smile: A smile involving both the mouth and the muscles around the eyes. It is often associated with genuine amusement accompanying laughter.
Respiratory system: The organs and structures that move air into and out of the body. Laughter interrupts ordinary breathing with repeated bursts of expelled air.
Social bonding: The formation and strengthening of relationships through interaction and shared experience. Shared laughter can signal affiliation and help build interpersonal bonds.
Crying: A response involving tears and often vocal or respiratory changes, associated with emotion or irritation. Crying can share bodily intensity with laughter while expressing a different response.
Pragmatics: The study of how context shapes meaning in communication. Laughter can function as a social signal whose meaning depends on context.
Larynx: An organ in the throat that houses the vocal folds and helps produce voice. Vocal-fold vibrations shape the sounds produced during laughter.
Laughter yoga: A group practice combining voluntary laughter exercises with yogic breathing. It deliberately uses laughter and breathing as structured group exercises.

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