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Science 1 April 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5718, pp. 62 - 63
DOI: 10.1126/science.1112066
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Perspectives

PSYCHOLOGY:
Beyond a Joke: From Animal Laughter to Human Joy?

Jaak Panksepp

Laughter and joy are considered to be uniquely human characteristics. However, as Panksepp explores in his Perspective, recent studies in chimps, dogs, and rats reveal that animals also exhibit laughterlike sounds when they are horsing around and having fun.

The author is at the J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403,USA, and at the Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201, USA. E-mail: jpankse{at}bgnet.bgsu.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)