Men and Women Process Humor Differently Don't make me laugh... I think I just found out the reason why my brother laughs so hard at the Three Stooges while I sit there straight-faced.  Well, maybe he's just a sucker for slapstick comedies, but according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, men and women do process humor differently.  In this study, a group of 10 men and 10 women watched 10 cartoons, pressed either a funny or not-funny button, then ranked each on a 1-10 scale of nothing to side-splitting. At the same time, their brains were undergoing functional MRI scans. Both the men and women generally found the same cartoons funny, but their brains reacted in totally different ways.  In the women, humor kicked off a lot of activity in a brain area called the nucleus accumbens, and the cartoons they didn't find amusing prompted much less activity. In the men, the opposite happened: Humor caused no change in activity, but unfunny triggered a decline in activity.  This study could help scientists figure out how our brains process emotions and that might figure strongly in new treatments for depression. Now if only we could explain the "chick flick" phenomenon!  ****************************************************  What is...cataplexy?  Cataplexy is a neurologic condition during which victims feel weak and have a sudden loss of voluntary muscle control. Symptoms can last from several seconds to 30 minutes and range from a slight weakness, nodding head, garbled speech, sagging facial muscles, buckling knees, and limp arm muscles to a total collapse. If the person collapses, he or she does not lose consciousness, but lies on the floor without moving until the attack subsides.  The attacks are triggered by expressions of strong emotions such as anger, fear, laughter, and surprise. The condition is more likely to occur in those who are stressed or fatigued. Cataplexy can exist on its own, but it is also a symptom of the sleep disorder narcolepsy.  Yours in good health, Amanda Ross Editorial Director Nutrition & Healing

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