Contralateral smile and laughter, but no mirth, induced by electrical stimulation of the cingulate cortex

F Sperli, L Spinelli, C Pollo, M Seeck - Epilepsia, 2006 - Wiley Online Library
F Sperli, L Spinelli, C Pollo, M Seeck
Epilepsia, 2006Wiley Online Library
The cerebral representation of laughter is dissociated. The emotional aspects seem to be
processed in the temporal lobe; whereas the motor features apparently rely on the frontal
cortex. In a few prior studies of patients in whom laughter was elicited by electrical
stimulation (ES), it always was associated with mirth. We report a patient in whom ES in the
right cingulate gyrus elicited smile and laughter, but no mirth. At low voltages, smiling was
seen first contralaterally and became bilateral with increasing currents. Our observation …
Summary
The cerebral representation of laughter is dissociated. The emotional aspects seem to be processed in the temporal lobe; whereas the motor features apparently rely on the frontal cortex. In a few prior studies of patients in whom laughter was elicited by electrical stimulation (ES), it always was associated with mirth. We report a patient in whom ES in the right cingulate gyrus elicited smile and laughter, but no mirth. At low voltages, smiling was seen first contralaterally and became bilateral with increasing currents. Our observation supports the concept of the motor representation of laughter in the mesial frontal cortex.
Wiley Online Library