Are You Ticklish?

istock_000008303606_mediumThere are two types of people in this world– those who laugh when they are tickled and those who do not.  I never understood how some people can be so ticklish and then for others, it doesn’t even faze them when someone tries to tickle them.  Don’t you find it strange that we are especially ticklish under are armpits or even the bottoms of our feet?  One of the reasons behind this is located close to the surface on the bottom of our feet are Meissner’s corpuscles.  These nerve receptors are extremely sensitive which allow our feet to be more sensitive when touched.

Being less ticklish than someone else may just mean your sensitivity isn’t as high as others.  Age also has an affect on this. Younger people tend to be more ticklish than those of an older age.  There is no one individual reason to explain why one person is more ticklish than another. Some of us just got lucky that we were given the sensitivity to enjoy laughing when we are being tickled.

Tickling can be broken down into two different types. One is gargalesis (heavy tickling), which is tickling that involves touching sensitive areas like the armpits, stomach, and neck.  Knismesis is where light movement results in an itching sensation instead of laughter.  Trying to tickle yourself represents knismesis.   Located in the brain is a part called the cerebellum.  The cerebellum monitors movements and it knows when we we try to tickle ourselves, so it cancels the response that is sent to the brain that would have caused us to react in a laughing sensation.

Two areas of the brain that are involved when being tickled are the somatosensory cortex and the anterior  cingulated cortex.  The somatosensory cortex’s job is to analyze touch which leads to the anterior cingulated cortex creating pleasurable feelings from the touch.  The rolandic operculum has the role of controlling our facial movements and emotional reactions.  This part of the brain is activated along with the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is associated with the saying “fight or flight” response. It controls things such as hunger, body temperature, and sexual behaviors.  The hypothalamus is what causes us to feel pleasure when someone else is tickling us.

Tickling begins at a young age between parents and their babies. It’s a way a parent is able to indexinteract and teach their child.  When a mother or father tickles their baby (which is quite entertaining) the baby reacts by smiling and laughing which creates a positive feedback.  This social interaction between the two is a positive bonding experience.

Growing up I was always the most ticklish in my family which made me an easy target.  I think having moments of laughter and those moments of tickling a friend or family member is a positive social experience.  It allows two people to connect and laugh with each other.  One of the most important things you should remember to do everyday is laugh.