Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1. Laughter: An Introduction
2. The Road Not Taken: Philosophical and Theoretical Approaches to Laughter
3. Natural History of Laughter
4. Cracking the Laugh Code: From Sound Lab to Opera Studio
5. Chimpanzee Laughter, Speech Evolution, and Paleohumorology
6. Ticklish Relationships
7. Contagious Laughter and the Brain
8. Abnormal and Inappropriate Laughter: Clinical Perspectives
9. Laughing Your Way to Health
Appendix: Ten Tips for Increasing Laughter: Perspectives from the Mall, Workplace, and Clinic
Notes
References
Index

About the Author

Robert R. Provine has authored more than fifty research articles concerning developmental neuroscience and animal and human behavior. He has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, 20/20, and Scientific American Frontiers.

Reviews

"[A] well-written, often amusing and always fascinating exposé." —Scientific American