Where does laughter come from? Laughter  preceded the emergence of language. This allowed our ancestors to clarify their intentions in situations of social interaction. “ Laughter  was an early and safe social signal. Before people had a chance to speak,  laughter  signaled that all was well,” says Carl Marchi, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. Laughter is fireworks for the brain When the brain identifies and understands a joke, it releases feel-good neurotransmitte