Primate study finds humans and great apes share similar tickle laughter

Primate study finds humans and great apes share similar tickle laughter

Humans and great apes have shared similar rhythmic patterns of laughter for millions of years, according to a study published June 25, 2026, in the journal Communications Biology. By analyzing the vocalizations of primates during tickling and play, researchers identified a consistent rhythmic structure that may date back to a common ancestor from 15 million years ago.

The research team, led by Chiara De Gregorio, a primatologist at the University of Warwick, examined 140 sequences of laughter. This included recordings from 13 captive apes — four orangutans, four chimpanzees, three bonobos, and two gorillas — as well as four human children between six months and seven years old. While the ape recordings were decades old, the laughter of the children was captured recently during play and tickling at home.

The findings reveal that when tickled, all species involved laughed in an isochronous fashion, meaning they maintained regular, evenly spaced intervals between laughing sounds. Because this rhythm remained consistent across species, the researchers described it as an unaltered look at the natural laughing rhythm of each species.

But this rhythmic consistency shifted during social play. De Gregorio noted that laughter during play was a bit messy because physical movements, such as rolling or play fighting, can disrupt breathing patterns and make it difficult to maintain a steady beat.

Evolutionary links to speech

While the basic rhythm is shared, the study found that humans possess a greater degree of vocal flexibility. Human subjects laughed at a quicker tempo than the apes and were the only species to modulate that tempo based on the context, laughing faster during tickling than during play. Among the primates, chimpanzees and bonobos laughed faster than gorillas and orangutans.

De Gregorio suggested that humans are the masters of laughter because of this ability to adapt. She noted that humans can shift between a small, polite laugh in formal settings and a different, more intense laugh in a pub with friends, or even use laughter to signal that a joke was not actually funny.

This flexibility is viewed as a proxy for the evolution of the phonatory-respiratory system. Because sounds do not leave fossils, laughter provides a rare window into the vocal control that eventually enabled human language. Study co-author Adriano Lameria, an associate professor at the University of Warwick, stated that laughter shows humans exist on a continuum of vocal control capacities that have been honed for 15 million years, rather than having suddenly acquired unique capacities.

Comparative vocalizations

The study emphasizes that while other animals can laugh, they do not follow the same patterns as great apes and humans. For instance, rats respond to tickling with ultrasonic squeaks.

The researchers highlight that for social creatures, the ability to vary laughter is useful for communicating emotional states, intent, and disposition. According to De Gregorio, laughter communicates significantly more than just a feeling of having fun.

Simon Townsend, who studies primate communication at the University of Zurich, said the analysis aligns with data suggesting great apes have more control over their vocal systems than previously believed. Brittany Florkiewicz, an animal communication researcher at Lyon College who was not part of the study, said the results make sense but suggested further investigation into other animals with playful facial expressions, such as cats, horses, and dogs.

The researchers acknowledged the study is small in scale, meaning further work is required to confirm these findings.