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Sunday 19 February 2012

Chirping Rats and Stand-up Comics

Play and laughter is found built in deep in the brain stem alongside rage and lust
Nature’s Edge Notebook #18       
Observation, Analysis, Reflection, New Questions
Who would ever think of tickling a rat?

It’s not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about rats.

But back in the mid 1990s, Profesor Jaak Panksepp, after years of work trying to discover where and how emotions reside in the brain, had a mischievous (and serious) idea early one morning.

But let him tell it.

Panksepp, whose voice on the phone has an audible twinkle even when explaining complicated science, went viral on YouTube with his demonstration — assisted by a couple of eager lab rats — that when he tickles them, they not only giggle and laugh — chirp, actually — they love it so much that they chase his tickling hand around their cage, begging for more.      Read Full

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