Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

One brain area helps you to enjoy a joke — but another helps you to get it

Seinfeld episodes help scientists to distinguish between the brain regions involved in understanding and appreciating humour.
Dorsal striatum in the brain, illustration.

One half of the brain structure called the striatum (green and red) is involved in appreciating a joke, but it takes both halves to understand the joke. Credit: Kateryna Kon/SPL

Understanding a joke and finding it funny are distinct processes in the human brain, each involving specialized brain regions1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 623, 461 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03400-z

References

  1. Prenger, M. et al. J. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1361-23.2023 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links