oh the irony!

[kronas]

scientific research has established that irony/sarcasm responses by the brain are regulated at the front, damage to the front can cause a loss of function to relatively understand sarcasm.

language areas on the left hand side of the brain interpret the literal meaning of words and the frontal lobes and the right side of the brain understand the social and emotional context.

source: BBC news

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4566319.stm

interesting read!

Where does The Guardian's interpretation of this research leave Americans?!

"The highest functions of our brains handle the lowest form of wit, new research suggests.

An investigation by Simone Shamay-Tsoory and colleagues shows that the ability to understand sarcasm depends on a carefully orchestrated sequence of complex cognitive skills in specific parts of the brain.

Dr Shamay-Tsoory, a psychologist at the Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa and the University of Haifa, said: "Sarcasm is related to our ability to understand other people's mental state. It's not just a linguistic form, it's also related to social cognition."


The research revealed that areas of the brain that decipher sarcasm and irony also process language, recognise emotions and help us understand social cues.
"Understanding other people's state of mind and emotions is related to our ability to understand sarcasm," she said..................................."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/st...ticle_continue