Exercise, Humor, Music, and the Brain

Introduction

    Exercising, laughing, and listening to music are things that every human takes joy in doing. Of course, these things can sometimes be negative as well; such as over-exercising until your legs ache from excruciating pain, having to force yourself to laugh at a stupid joke, or having to endure some genre of music you despise while you're at a party. When these things are not negative, however, they can be therapeutic and good for the brain. Exactly how do exercise, humor, and music affect the brain? The answers may surprise you.

Exercise

    Recent research has given us insight into the benefits exercise has on the human brain. Two researchers named Jean Pierre Changeux and Christopher Henderson discovered that movement of muscles stimulates the growth of axons. [1] Axons are projections on neurons that send information to other neighboring neurons, helping us to think better. Therefore, exercise can help increase a person's intelligence. Neglecting to move the body will result in fewer axons. Research conducted by a team at the University of California, Irvine shows that regularly exercising increases production of neutrophins in the hippocampus. [2] Studies also show that those who exercise get higher scores on intelligent tests than those who do not exercise. There is evidence that exercise in young children will boost their school grades. [54] People who get migraine headaches may find that exercise helps fend off their migraines. [22] The endorphins released during aerobic exercise help decrease muscle tension, which is one of the causes of migraines. Exercise also increases glucose, serotonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. [13][14][15]
Aerobics
    Aerobic exercise is a popular form of working out that usually follows a certain number of criteria. To be 'aerobic', the exercise should be nonstop, last for a minimum of 12 minutes, proceed at a comfortable pace, and work the muscles of the lower body. [3] Aerobic exercise has been found to have these effects on the brain:

1. Aerobic exercise can improve one's ability to recollect information. [4]
2. Aerobic exercise increases the level of endorphins and anandamine in the brain. [5] This has long been called 'the runner's high'. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that relax us, increase mental alertness, decrease pain, and give a feeling of well-being. [6] Beta-endorphins bind to the same receptor as morphine, which is why it acts as a pain reliever. [17] Arne Dietrich found that aerobic exercise lasting at least 20 minutes increases anandamide, which is a cannabinoid neurotransmitter that produces a euphoria related to smoking Marijuana. [7]
   
3. Aerobic exercise can help prevent depression. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health found that people who do not regularly engage in aerobic exercise are twice as likely to show depressive symptoms. [8]
4. Neurotrophins available to the brain and nervous system will increase when a person does aerobic exercise. [9] Neurotrophins are proteins that aid in the survival and growth of neurons. [10] It also seems that overexercising does not mean ever increasing neurotrophins. There is a certain level of neurotrophin access that can be reached through exercise, but no more.
5. Aerobic exercise gives the brain more blood and oxygen, aiding function. [11] It does this by increasing the capillaries around neurons.
6. Aerobic exercise can result in faster reaction times, especially in the elderly. [12]

Mood and Cravings
    Studies have shown that exercise can lower one's cravings and increase their mood. A study by Gregory Mondin found that people who abruptly stopped their daily exercise routines encountered mood swings, depression, anxiety, and confusion. [21] Once exercise resumed, these problems went away. A 1989 study by Robert Thayer showed that 10 minute walks reduced cravings in addicted smokers and people who eat too many snacks. The walks also improved their moods. [20] The lesson seems to be that if you are feeling sad or craving something you know you shouldn't be, then exercise might be of some help.
Overexercising
    Working out too much and pushing the body more than it can handle will lead to staleness syndrome. [24] Staleness syndrome can involve irritability, tension, anger, sleep disturbance, muscle soreness, decrease in immune system function, mental instability, and overall melancholy. Those with staleness syndrome are unable to perform athletics like they used to and will often times need months of rest and recuperation before their abilities return. Around 60% of long-distance runners and 30% of Olympic hopefuls will experience staleness syndrome. [1]
    Staleness syndrome can be avoided by monitoring mood. If someone who works out a lot begins to notice they are not feeling as happy as they normally do, then they should take a break from their exercise routines until their mood improves.
    Vigorous workouts can also increase the testosterone levels in men. [25] This can cause emotional outbursts and acts of aggression if a man who has just exercised does not spend at least 30 minutes 'cooling down'.
Smoking
    Smoking cigarettes builds up the body's tolerance to epinephrine because every cigarette causes epinephrine release. Epinephrine is the neurotransmitter the body uses to speed up the heart when a person exercises. Since a smoker's body is used to epinephrine, their hearts will not speed up when they start to exercise. This alone makes them five times likelier than non-smokers to suffer a heart attack. Not to mention that smokers also increase their blood pressure, clog the lungs with tar that makes it harder to breathe, and strain the heart. [26] To put it simply, exercising while smoking cigarettes will not make you healthy.
Athletic Performance
    People can improve their athletic performance through mental training exercises. [27] James Garfield wrote a book which offers mental training techniques that have helped people reach superior athletic performance. These techniques range from visualization to goal setting.
Choice
    The health benefits of exercise seem to be more apparent in people who willfully choose to exercise. [16] If a person feels like they are being forced to exercise, or that it is a chore, then they will often have stress. This stress will outweigh the health benefits of exercise. [18] It is always better if a person can willfully choose to engage in an activity rather than being forced.
    Some people would rather relax at their computer or in front of their TV than go jogging. To account for different personality types, James Gavin created a seven-dimensional scale that helps people match different kinds of exercise to their personality. [19]
    Exercise improves mood in part because it increases epinephrine levels. [23] The epinephrine enters the locus ceruleus, a center of the brain responsible for mood and emotion, and helps a person deal with stress.

Humor

    Humor has always been well admired as something that makes us feel good. Brain scientists have been interested in understanding how a sense of humor works in relation to the mind and body.
3WD Model
    The 3WD, or 3 humor dimensions, model is a universal explanation of humor that was created in the early 1990's. The three dimensions in the model are structure, content, and response. Jokes or other things humorous can be put to the 3WD test to see what kind of humor it really is, and whether or not it is even funny. [28] The joke can fall into one of two structure categories and a content category. The structure categories are 'incongruity resolution' and 'nonsense'. Incongruity resolution jokes will have a punch line that clears up earlier aspects of the joke that were not in correspondence, thus bringing resolution. [29] Nonsense jokes will have punchlines that do not clarify the joke or bring resolution. Instead, the punchline of a nonsense joke might introduce more absurdity or incongruity. [1] In the content category a joke can either be classified as 'sexual' or 'not sexual'.
    The response to the joke will be funny or not funny, and aversive or not aversive. This means that a joke can be funny and aversive, funny but not aversive, not funny but aversive, or not funny and not aversive. The 'best' jokes are those which are funny and not aversive. If a joke is aversive, it means that there is something about it that is offensive or unlikeable. This will vary depending on the person listening to the joke. For instance, a joke about homosexual priests might be highly aversive to someone who is religious, but not aversive to someone who is atheist. Even if someone finds a joke aversive, though, they still may be able to appreciate the humor. In this case the joke was funny but aversive. The 'worst' jokes will be those that are aversive and not funny, because the person hearing this kind of joke will have no appreciation.
    In summary, the 3WD model can analyze a joke using four categories that can classify it into one of sixteen possible 'joke types'.
    Studies have determined that people who are low in extroversion and low in originality prefer incongruity resolution humor over nonsense humor. People who are high in extroversion and originality prefer nonsense humor. People high in extroversion, originality, and a need for stability enjoy sexual humor more than nonsexual humor. [30] Also, older people prefer incongruity jokes while younger people like nonsense jokes. This shows that personality traits and age can determine a person's sense of humor.
Funny People
    Some people just seem like they were born to be hysterical. Though sense of humor may be in small part due to a person's genes, it seems that environment and nurture is the main source for comedic personality. People who are funny usually come from backgrounds that have exposed them to deprivation or sadness. It may seem odd, but the funniest jokes usually include the dirty, taboo, and melancholy things in life. Most comedians are not people who did well in school, since school is usually their first 'stage'. Class-clowns will use school time to poke fun of anything they can and receive laughs from classmates. [31] Furthermore, people who constantly tell jokes will have insecurities rooted in their family life. [32] In a study of 254 female twin pairs, each was required to reed a cartoon and rate it on a scale of one to ten. They concluded that similarities in sense of humor were strictly environmental and that genes had no effect on what a person finds funny. [33]
    Jokes are usually knee-jerk reactions to the inconsistencies or peculiarities of life and could be called a coping mechanism for its ability to help ease stress. A study performed by psychologist Michelle Newman found that people who use humor as a coping mechanism will have much less stress than those who can't find humor in serious situations. [36] The study involved having a group of people make up a humorous monologue to go along with a video of something gruesome. Those who failed to make a funny monologue had higher blood pressure, skin conductance, and skin temperature.
    Curiosity is the comedian's most useful tool. Examining life for its absurd details, a masterful comedian will be able to point out the oddities of society and its individuals. A comedian will often times be interested in understanding thought processes and the feelings people have because it allows them to relate to their audience better. [31]
    Of the comedians that have been psychologically tested, most have been found to be impulsive, spontaneous, and energetic. Their personalities make them reactive, outgoing, curious, creative, spontaneous, and undisciplined. Of course, not every comedian is exactly the same but they do seem to share similar traits.
Health
    Laughter seems to help people fight illness and stay as healthy as possible. Norman Cousins, considered the founder of psychoneuroimmunology, says that laughter is like internal jogging. He thoroughly supports the idea that laughter can make a person healthy and science tends to agree. One study performed by Cousins himself found that laughter reduces blood sedimentation rate (inflammation). [34] Another study by Loma Linda University divided cardiac patients into two groups. One group was told to watch a half hour sitcom everyday while the other group was not. A year later the group that had watched the sitcoms showed these results [35]:

• Enhanced respiration
• Increased number of immune cells and an increase in immune-cell proliferation
• Decrease in cortisol
• Increase in endorphins
• Increase in salivary immunoglobulin type A concentrations
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer repeat heart attacks

And all that was just from thirty minutes of laughter a day.
    Problem solving ability will increase after a person has spent some time laughing. [37] This works because laughter turns off the posterior hypothalamus and allows the cerebral cortex to focus on a given task. Researchers Seymour and Rhoda Fisher found that people who scored high on a comic survey scored low on a Fishers' Symptom Questionnaire. This supports the idea that those who laugh and have a good sense of humor will suffer from fewer health problems than those who don't.
    Studies on the relationship between laughter and the immune system are underway right now. An organization called Rx Laughter is heading a series of studies on the subject. So far they have found that people "watched humorous classic and contemporary tv shows and films during a painful procedure tolerated the pain better and longer, proving humorous and engaging videos to be a valuable distraction for patients in specifically used ways during painful medical procedures." [38] Another Rx Laughter study done at the NCI Thailand Cancer Center for adults found that cancer patients who watched comedic Thai films and television had improved sleep, reduced pain, and improved morale.
Gender
    Men and women usually have a difference in opinion on what is funny and what is not. Surveys that asked both men and women comedians their opinions on humor found distinct differences in the genders. [1]
Men Prefer:

• Humor that is less intelligent than the kind women seem to like
• Silly or slapstick humor
• Dirtier or cruder humor that has profanities
• Jokes that are at other people's expense
• Physical and aggressive humor
• Shorter and quicker delivery of jokes

Women Prefer:

• Jokes about childbirth and raising children
• Dryer kinds of humor than men
  
• Jokes that are at their own expense
• Jokes about relationships and the battle of the sexes
• Cute, romantic, and sugar-coated humor
• Clean jokes that are not raunchy or graphically dirty
• Long buildup of jokes before delivery of the punchline

Both the men and women comics agreed that family, food, and sex are three good topics for jokes.
    Studies have found that women who make a mistake will joke about it in a self-deprecating way while men will turn it outward. [39] Women who joke about themselves will have lower systolic blood pressure while men who joke about other people will have higher blood pressure. Men's humor will often appear to be hostile to women because it makes fun of them or others while a man will find a woman's humor self-abnegating. Men also tend to think that women don't have a sense of humor because they don't think it is funny to be teased or aggressed. [40]
    It has also been found that women are usually the ones laughing while men are the ones telling jokes. [41] One study indicated that women speakers laugh 127% more than their male audiences and that men speakers laugh 7% less than their female audiences. Evolutionary psychologists believe these differences come from the fact that men are aggressive hunters while women are nurturers. While this is just speculation, it remains a plausible explanation for the differences between men and women on the subject of humor.

Music

  

  Music is both a form of entertainment and artistic expression. The ability to comprehend and appreciate music takes into account many parts of the brain including but not limited to those responsible for auditory discrimination, muscular coordination, and rhythmic sensitivity. The temporal lobe definitely plays an important role in listening to and playing music. This is the section of the cerebral cortex that is responsible for processing audio information coming into the brain from the ears. [42] The thalamus might also be involved. Since the brain has plasticity, the areas responsible for music can vary on an individual basis. What scientists have discovered is that music is based on genetic evolution. For instance, identical twins demonstrate a great deal of similarity in the way that they process and perform music. [43]
Mood
    Most people listen or play music because of its effects on mood. The higher the pitch in a song, the more positive an effect the song will have. The slower, minor keys will soothe the brain and increase cortical and limbic alertness. [1] Research done by Penn State University shows that any kind of music can lift someone's mood. Just hearing melody, instruments, or vocals has the ability to drown out sadness and bring in optimism, joy, and relaxation. [58] Another study measured immunoglobulin A levels in college students who listened to jazz, smooth jazz, clicks and tones, or nothing. [59] The smooth jazz increased immunoglobulin A production by 14%, regular jazz by 7%, clicks and tones by a negative 19% and nothing made a 0% difference. The mellowest music of the bunch seems to increase immune system function the most, while simple clicks and tones seem to decrease immune function by a considerable amount
    A study on couples found that music which reflected their anger helped them resolve their conflicts. Similarly, happy music resulted in eventual conflict resolution. Music without words helped them reach conflict resolution better than music with words. [60] Generally, people will find that music which complements their mood is much more enjoyable than music that does not. If someone is feeling angry and listens to a song which is very soft and happy, it will be irritating and do nothing to improve their mood. If they throw on some angry music, however, it will match their inner feelings and lift their spirits up.
    Some research points to the idea that engaging in social activities where music is present will boost moods and energy. For example, a neurologist at the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Maryland found that regular attendance to drum circles leaves workers with more energy and less depression. [61] Things like choir or ballroom dancing can probably have similar effects.
    The following is a list of the effects music can have on mood [62]:

1. Repetitive rhythms and minimalist music can induce trancelike states that can bring feelings of intense joy
2. Musical rhythms liberate the mind from ordinary states
3. Music that slows gradually will have a relaxing effect
4. Lullabies help put people to sleep by imitating breathing rhythms
5. Body rhythms will adapt to rhythms of live music
6. Music is universal in its ability to convey emotion

Learning It
    Typically, the best time to learn to play a musical instrument is between the ages of three and ten. [44] One study showed that musicians who were exposed to music before the age of 7 had a better chance of developing perfect pitch than children exposed to music after the age of 10. The evidence for this was based on magnetic resonance scans of the brains of 30 musicians and 30 nonmusicians. [46] Out of these 60 people, 11 had perfect pitch, and they were the ones who began learning to play music when they were 7 or younger. The people with perfect pitch showed a planum temporale (located in the left hemisphere of the brain) that was 40% larger than the planum temporale in their right hemisphere. Nonmusicians had a left hemisphere planum temporale that was only a tiny bit larger than the one in their right hemisphere.
    Other research of people with perfect pitch showed that they had greater activity in the left posterior dorsolateral frontal cortex while listening to music than those without perfect pitch. [47] This seemed to show that this area of the brain is accessed when naming notes. For people with perfect pitch, access to this area came naturally whereas others only accessed it when comparing the differences between musical notes.
    Learning to play a musical instrument or sing has some marked effects on the human brain. In one study it was discovered that string players have a larger somatosensory cortex than those who do not play a string instrument. [45] One of the responsibilities of this cortex is to control the fingers on the left hand. The size of the somatosensory cortex was directly related to the number of years the person had been playing a string instrument. Since the left hand is constantly used by most string players, the brain allocated more space for this function over the years.
Tone Deafness
    Tone deafness is a set of symptoms one has that makes it impossible for them to successfully play music or sing. These symptoms are [1]:

1. The inability to detect a change of one half-step in a test tone
2. The inability to learn and remember a simple melody
3. The inability to find emotional displeasure in dissonant or out-of-tune sounds that musicians find unpleasant
4. The inability to tap in time to music

Scientists have yet to discover a genetic mutation responsible for tone deafness.
Music and Intelligence
    A recent cultural phenomenon has been the increasing belief that introducing complicated orchestra music, like the works of Mozart, to a baby or young child will increase their intelligence and capacity for learning. This 'Mozart effect' is based on a study that involved 36 college students who listened to Mozart for ten minutes before taking an intelligence test. Doing this caused the students to score 60%, or 8 to 9 IQ points, higher than those who listened to relaxation tapes or sat in silence. [48] The effects disappeared after 10 to 15 minutes. Researchers believe that the complexity of classical music activates neurons associated with spatial reasoning. When the same study was applied to children rather than adults, the positive effects on intelligence seemed to last much longer. This makes sense considering the brain is much more plastic when we are young.
    A few studies loosely related to the 'Mozart effect' found that musical training helps improve spatial ability. One of these studies involved daily keyboard or singing lessons over a span of eight months. Those who received the lessons for eight months showed a 35% improvement in spatial reasoning. [49] Another study had second grade students receive four months of piano or keyboard training. Once four months had passed, the kids showed a 27% increase scores on fractions and proportional math. They also showed improvement in abstract and spatial reasoning. [50]
    Yet another study was done on three groups of rats. One group was played Mozart, another Philip Glass, and a third listened to nothing. The group of rats that listened to Mozart were much better at navigating mazes than the other two groups of rats. [51]
    It should be noted that these 'Mozart' related studies be taken with a grain of salt. Not everyone in the scientific community believes the findings presented by these studies, citing the fact that overall IQ (different from spatial reasoning IQ) only increases about 1 point on average, and even that is temporary.
    On a similar note, research indicates that an approach to music education called the Kodály method has helped students with their mathematics. [52] Of a group of students, 25% were higher in their math aptitude than students that had not taken Kodaly courses.
Music and Personality
    Depending on their personality type, a person will respond to music differently than someone else might. Based on personality tests, people who are 'conservative' will prefer simpler and more familiar music while 'liberals' and sensation seekers will enjoy more complex and unfamiliar music. [62] A survey conducted in 1984 found the following information about singer's voices and their personalities:

• A singers emotionality is directly correlated with how high they can sing
• The higher the voice a singer has the more fright and variability they will have
• Bass singers have more testosterone and greater ambition than others
• Nonsingers are less extroverted, less conceited, more intelligent, more faithful, and more considerate than singers.

Studies on the personalities of people who play instruments showed the following [62]:

• Instrumentalists are more introverted and anxious than nonmusicians
• People who play brass instruments are more emotionally stable, more extroverted, less accomodating, and less focused than people who play other kinds of instruments
• People who play string instruments are more emotionally reactive than people who play other kinds of instruments
• Jazz players are more emotionally reactive, higher in originality, less accomodating, and less disciplined than people who play other kinds of instruments.
  

Interfered Learning
    Listening to music while studying is popular among some teachers and students. Some even believe that it helps the learning process. Take for instance the subject of accelerated learning. In some accelerated learning environments a teacher will play music believing that it will help students remember more. Science has shown that this is simply not the case. In one study it was found that the students in an accelerated-learning course learned 50% less than the students in a similar course of equal length that did not use music. [53] Other studies have reached similar results. The reason for this must be that music competes for the attention of a learner.
    One study sums up the effects listening to music has on verbal and visual-spatial information. They found that:

• People who listen to music while studying are much more extroverted than the people who don't
• Extroverts are less bothered by noise and music
• The perception people have of how much music and noise bothers them is unreliable
• Music with vocals is more bothersome than instrumental music
• Music interferes more with complex tasks than with simpler tasks; more with verbal tasks than visual-spatial ones

Helping Injured Brains
    Music may help people who have injured brains. A study by the National Institute of Health Office of Alternative Medicine found that brain injury patients who listened to music of their own choosing had increased lucidity when they were confused, increased ability to have emotional empathy, and improved recovery and rehabilitation time. [55][1] Another study showed that listening to Mozart helps epileptic patients fend off epileptic seizures. [56] Alzheimer's patients have even benefited from listening to Mozart, as it helped them to do cognitive related skills. [57]

Conclusion

    We have skimmed over three major parts of life and their relationship to the human brain. Exercise, humor, and music are all areas of great interest to psychologists and other brain scientists. As we continually unlock secrets about how the brain works, we will better understand how the emotional aspects of humor, exercise, and music mesh with the biological. It is also important to understand that the psychology of all these things is not even close to be completely understood. What we do know, however, is both fascinating and enlightening.