Scientists knew that rats like to be tickled on their stomachs and backs, so they conducted further studies.

Researchers at the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany discovered that rats could laugh in 2016. With special microphones, they tickled the rats and recorded squeaky giggles. Even when rats playfully chased the researchers’ hands, the rats laughed. Their laughs are too high-pitched to be heard by human ears, and can only be heard through the recordings. 

In 2023, researchers used electrodes to monitor the activity in rats’ brains while being tickled. They found a ‘laugh centre’ in the brain of the rats. It is a region called the ‘peri-aqueductal grey’ and it is crucial for rats to be able to laugh. 

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM