The Neuroscience of Laughter and its Chemical Effect on Dopamine

Overview

Stress affects a person’s health in numerous ways such as headaches, sleep issues, or even illnesses. C₈H₁₁NO₂, or dopamine, a feel good chemical produced by our body is critical for functioning and developing immunity to mental illnesses and diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease. My research is about a natural way to manage chronic stress, not treat illness, by increasing naturally dopamine levels. My research idea is that laughter, an everyday occurrence, can possibly increase dopamine levels. My projects has five main parts: 1. Website Creation: To provide information about my research and collect data - c8h11no2neuroscience is the name of the site. 2. Research Questionnaire - Phase 1: Collected data from 274 subjects of different age groups. My research showed 50% of people laughed a little at the jokes, 60% people felt better after laughing, and 66% of them wanted to take more break. 3. Laughter Timer: Since 66% of my phase 1 results showed subjects wanted to take more breaks, I created a “Laughter Timer” to remind people every 3 hours to take a break to laugh. I created a circuit, tested with a breadboard, manufactured a Printed Circuit Board, soldered the components, and designed a 3D printed enclosure all at home. 4. Phase 2 Testing: After learning the results from my survey, I decided to collect more data. I recruited 5 subjects for 7 days to get 1575 vital readings (oxygen saturation levels, blood pressure, and heart rate) before, during and after laughing every 3 hours (using my laughter timer). There were ~ 4 to 7% changes to their vitals and their mood was better after taking a “laughter break”. 5. Data Analysis: By reviewing my phase 1 and 2 data, I concluded that dopamine can possibly be created by laughter, and such breaks can reduce stress long term and motivate people to work harder. Next year, my goal is to work in a lab to get fluid readings from subjects to measure the C₂₁H₃₀O₅, or cortisol and dopamine levels before, during and after laughter breaks.

Awards (1)

• Sponsored Award: Third Place IRI Award

Competition history

• CSEF 2023 Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division) · Entry S0411

Resources

• CSEF published award list ↗
• CSEF published award list ↗
• CSEF published award list ↗
• CSEF public showcase (Internet Archive capture) ↗

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