Alcoholics have trouble understanding jokes, but they may be missing out on much more than a chance to laugh.
German neuroscientists showed 29 alcoholics and 29 healthy control subjects the introductions to a joke and then a choice of punch lines-only one of which made logical sense and was funny. Whereas 92 percent of the non-drinkers choose the correct punch line, only 68 percent of the drinkers did. "The ability to understand jokes is an example of complex social cognition," explains Jennifer Uekermann <http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auth:Uekermann,J> of Ruhr University Bochum <http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/index_en.htm> . "It involves detecting incongruity-what's wrong or funny about the story-and putting oneself in another's place." An alcoholic's problems with social cues are consistent with the "frontal lobe hypothesis," which postulates that damage to the prefrontal cortex-know to be vulnerable to alcohol's toxic effects-leads to behavioral deficits. Most other studies of alcoholics' brain function have concentrated on perceptual problems caused by such damage, Uekermann says. But when a person has deficits in social cognition, he or she has difficulty getting along with and working with other people. A better understanding of how problem drinkers are impaired could help improve rehabilitation programs for alcoholics. Happy Learning, Yovan P. Putra <http://primamind.wordpress.com> www.primastudy.com <http://www.primastudy.com>
