Why tickle yourself

Windt recently performed a dream experiment that sounds like it came straight out of the movie Inception. The subjects also tried to get other dream characters to tickle them; that too failed, sometimes because the other characters simply refused to be of service. If all that seems a little esoteric, there could be practical reasons for picking apart the neural processes behind self-tickling. So attempts to break down that process in healthy people could, eventually, shed some light on the way it malfunctions during periods of mental illness.

Could robots one day be sentient enough to be ticklish? Self-tickling could even improve artificial intelligence, says Robert Provine, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. If so, a feather duster could provide a delightfully bizarre alternative to the famous Turing test for artificial intelligence in years to come: just aim for its extremities and see if it laughs.

In Depth Brain. Share using Email. By David Robson 9th January If someone tells you that they are going to tickle you then you don't laugh as much as when it is a surprise. This is because you laugh in a tickle because you are surprised if you are not surprised, you don't laugh that much. This applies to the wonder of tickling yourself, because if your brain knows what you will get you don't laugh, but you still get a little smile.

Wonderopolis Apr 27, Rayla Apr 25, I think you could tickle yourself but I haven't tried yet. Wonderopolis Apr 25, I have always wondered why when I tickle myself it doesn't tickle I think it's cool that our brains can work that way I wonder what wonder they will think of next?

Apr 24, That video was awkward and funny. The awkward part was when the baby knew that he was going to get tickled. The funny part was how the baby laughed. And what is the next wonder? Wonder Friend L Apr 24, The baby was adorable I learn something new every time I come on this website. What about giraffes for our thing tomorrow? I really liked today's wonder and I have tried to tickle myself and I never laugh. I think like you said our brain is used to it and someone else's hands feels different than your own.

Maddy Apr 24, I think today's wonder was weird. I did try tickling the roof of my mouth and it worked. My mom is very ticklish and she always tell me to stop when I tickle her. Dillon ; ; ; ; ; Apr 24, That was a cute video it reminds me of my younger cousin when she was younger. Sami: Apr 24, I can tickle myself but I just giggle a little bit but not a lot. True Cowgirl Apr 24, I know I can't tickle myself.

The reason why is I have tried many times to tickle myself when I was two to three years old. Back then I thought it was funny. Now that I have a seven year old brother, I love to tickle him and sometimes get him to do things I don't want to do.

A quick thank you to the creators of this website. I really like it. No I can't tickle myself plus I tried and what's the next wonder and I love this site. I still wonder about how can you tickle yourself. Are there other things to do when you tickle yourself? I still wonder aboout this. Aubree Apr 24, I can not tickle myself, but some people can tickle me.

I thought the video was CUTE! Alex V. I never could tickle myself. But I could tickle the top of my mouth though. The cerebellum throws out the unimportant stuff, I never knew that! Jensens class Apr 24, Right now our class is actually learning about this sort of thing today!!! The kids enjoyed this wonder very much. Jensens class. That's great news! Jensens class! I wonder if it is possible to tickle yourself at all besides the roof of your mouth or sometimes your foot.

McKenna Apr 24, I have wondered why they say laughter is the best medicine. I have never thought about if I could tickle myself, but now this wonder has got me thinking about it. Can I really tickle myself? Cindy Apr 24, I have been wondering why you can't tickle yourself and how come you can tickle your friends and have fun but when you tickle your self it isn't fun?

I always wondered why I couldn't tickle myself. It was very interesting to learn about that. I don't like being tickled, just because it bothers me but when I get to tickle somebody I think it's funny to watch them squirm and telling me to stop!!!

I wonder why we call tickling, tickling? Who discovered tickling anyway? Brooke Apr 24, I have always wondered why we cant tickle ourselves now I know. I think it's cool that our brain can function like that. Students from Ms. H's class Apr 24, Dear wonderopolis, I tickled myself but I did not laugh at all but I realized if you tickle your roof in side your mouth it will tickle.

I think tomorrow's wonder is going to be about dogs and I think tomorrow's wonder is going to be about cats. Sincerely, Students from Ms. H's Class. Hopping's Class Apr 24, It worked for some of us! It really does tickle and make you laugh. That is a genius idea. Jeffrey Willius Apr 24, Really surprised at your assertion that very few people can self-tickle. I do it all the time. Definitely a small wonder worth celebrating, though. I enjoy your blog, especially since we share the same focus! Thanks for the good work you're doing to encourage awareness, curiosity and wonder.

Thomas's Tigers Apr 24, Thanks for the silly wonder! We loved giggling! We think tomorrow's wonder could be about the president, a war, Boston or maybe flags?? Piccioni's Second Graders Apr 24, Thanks for such a great wonder!! We loved tickling the roofs of our mouths. We have few questions!! Why does tickling cause us to laugh so hard? Why is it called tickling? Can you tickle animals? Why is it so hard to breathe when you are being tickled?

Thank you!! Moreland's 3rd Grade Class Apr 24, We did an experiment to see if anyone could tickle themselves.

As it turns out, a lot of us could! It was a very cool experiment! We think tomorrow's wonder will be about celebrating our upcoming holiday, Memorial Day! Tyler Jarvis Apr 24, I am very ticklish in the feet. So ticklish, that I can't help but to kick. Ross's Class Apr 24, What we learned: One thing I learned is that my brain has been divided into parts and one of them is the cerebellum. Ross - Is laughter contagious?

Sam Apr 24, I have always wondered why we can't tickle ourselves. Wonderopolis told me how. I enjoy Wonderopolis so much. I Didn't See It!!! Berkleigh Apr 24, Yes, you can tickle yourself! Sometimes when I want a good laugh, I tickle myself and see how long it takes for me to laugh. Thank you for today's wonder! Flinn's Kindergarten Class Apr 24, Kaylin says she can't tickle herself. Juatin said he also can't tickle himself. Mia said the only place you can tickle yourself is roof of mouth.

Flinn said that you can stop a brain freeze by putting your tongue to the roof of your mouth? Gage said his mom and dad can tickle really hard. Samantha can tickle herself. Emily said she can't tickle herself. Bowes' Second Grade Apr 24, Dear Wonderopolis, Giggle!

As we like to tickle the roof of our mouth. As we laugh out loud. Have a Wonderful day! Burns' Class Apr 24, What about tickling your feet? We talked about how we can tickle our own feet and make ourselves laugh! Froggy 1 Apr 24, One of our students noticed that when he tickles the roof of his mouth, it always tickles, no matter if he has touched it before or not!

We didn't know when you touch the roof of your mouth it would tickle. For some people it didn't tickle that much, but for others, it was ticklish! Some people noticed when we use our tongue on the roof of our mouth that tickles too. We didn't know that you could tickle yourself! We predict tomorrow's wonder of the day will be about all the patriotic songs, the American flag, the Patriots, the president, or the army. VanDusen's Class Apr 24, Thoughts, Connections, Questions: Hayden- How does our brain predict our actions?

Bryan- How can the roof of the mouth be ticklish? Sierra- My sister was tickling my nephew and he was laughing really hard! Predictions: David- When was the first 4th of July? Hayden- What does the 4th of July represent? Michael- Why did they make fireworks?

Mia- Why did they make the American flag? Bryan- Why do we shoot fireworks on the 4th of July? Samantha- Who made fireworks?

Aaliyah- Why is the 4th of July a holiday? Cassie- When were the first fireworks made? Stephanie- Why do we celebrate the 4th of July? MIss Marsico's Class Apr 24, Comments: Adam - I like the many synonyms used for laughing in this article. Jake- I never knew most people can't tickle themselves. Louis - I never knew the roof of your mouth is ticklish.

Hess' Class Apr 24, Further studies using robots showed that the presence of a small delay between your own movement and the resulting tickle can make the sensation feel tickly. Indeed, the longer the delay, the more tickly it feels.

So it might be possible to tickle yourself, if you are willing to invest in a couple of robots! Answer originally posted Aug. Sign up for our email newsletter. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American.