Autism: No Laughing Matter

Authors: Nick Maloney, B. Runi Mukherji

SUNY Campus: SUNY Old Westbury

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 19

Timeslot: Session B 10:15-11:15 AM

Abstract: A major characteristic of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is a difficulty for individuals to comprehend the thoughts of others and that they may differ from their own. This concept is known as Theory of Mind (ToM). Much research suggests that people diagnosed with ASDs, beyond their general social communication deficits, have difficulties in comprehending humor that may occur, in part, from ToM-related deficits. A well-established theory called Incongruity-Resolution Theory (IRT) provides a framework for the structure of a joke. The IRT theory suggests something is funny when it violates the observer’s expectations then provides clarity by resolving the incongruity with something that fits. This can be understood as the typical set-up and punchline structure of a joke. This process often requires that the observer is thinking about the thoughts of others with the intention of solving the joke. To date, neuroscience research has mapped the brain structures and processes involved in humor comprehension and appreciation separately from the brain structures and processes associated with ToM-related deficits. Here the overlap between the brain structures involved in ToM and the brain structures involved in humor comprehension and appreciation will be examined from the literature. This will be followed by an analysis of the current state of humor-based interventions for ASD and personality disorders that also present with diminished ToM abilities. It is hoped that these types of humor-based interventions could be made more effective as we understand the neurological basis of the impairment.