Neuropsychological assessment of the morphofunctional organization of humour perception processes

Abstract

A review of studies analysing the process of humour perception under normal conditions and its disturbances in brain damage is presented. The perception of humour is considered to be a multicomponent mental activity that occurs through a series of cognitive and affective processes characterized by a specific brain organization. The results of studies on the perception of humour in healthy people and in patients with brain damage are largely inconsistent: neuroimaging studies confirm the important role of structures of both hemispheres of the brain, while clinical data indicate a significant contribution of structures of the right hemisphere to the perception of humour. Studies on humour perception in healthy individuals and clinical studies have found no differences between the neuronal correlates of verbal and non-verbal humour perception. A neuropsychological approach to the study of the structure of the process of humour perception may be important for diagnosis of affective and cognitive disorders in patients with brain damage, as difficulties in the perception of humour may reflect disturbances of the most subtle aspects of the functioning and interaction of cognitive and emotional-personal processes.

Keywords

• humour perception
• brain damage
• neuroimaging methods
• neuropsychology