April 27, 2010

A report by Italian researchers suggests that laughter can be used to treat depression.

Fonzi L and colleagues from Sapienza Università di Roma published a report in the Jan-Feb 2010 of Rivista di Psichiatria explaining why laughter can have a therapeutic effect on depression.

Fonzi et al said that existing data suggests that laughter genesis involves encephalic structures like cortical and subcortical regions.

Studies show that laughter has effects on the organism physiologic equilibrium, particularly on the neuoendocrine and immune systems.

Secondly, according to the authors, evidence has linked depression influences a person’s ability to laugh suggesting that a reduction in the laughter frequency is a symptom of depression and an increase may be a marker of clinical improvement.

It has been demonstrated that laughter improve mood directly and have an effect on negative or stressful events of psychological well-being.

The authors also said it is possible that the stimulation of the cerebral regions involved in depression and the normalization of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortocal system dysfunctions, mediated by laughter can effectively help depression.