How your genes may be giving you the giggles
Next time you find yourself with an uncontrollable urge to laugh, you can thank your parents.
Researchers
at UC Berkeley and Northwestern University have found that a gene
involved in the regulation of serotonin makes some of us more prone to
spontaneous smiles and bursts of laughter.
And this “giggle gene” is the same one that is also associated with marital bliss or blues.
Specifically,
researchers looked at two versions of the gene variant, or “allele”
known as 5-HTTLPR, and found that people with the short version were
more likely to smile and laugh while looking at
cartoons and funny clips from the movie Strangers in Paradise.
They found that people with the short allele displayed a more genuine smile and laugh than people with the long allele.
While
previous research has found that people with the short variant were more
vulnerable to depression and anxiety, this study also shows that they
are more responsive to the emotional highs of life as well.
“Having
the short allele is not bad or risky,” said Dr. Claudia
Haase of Northwestern University, coauthor of the study. “Instead, the
short allele amplifies emotional reactions to both good and bad
environments.“
Learn more about the giggling gene