To better understand how humour can enhance learning, we need to first understand how learning is achieved. Cognitivism is a classic learning theory that views learning as a process in which people receive “new information” via sensory input, and then seek ways to understand it by relating and incorporating it into “existing information” in the learner’s memory. Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was that children build “mental maps” in their brains for understanding and responding to their experiences within their environments [10]. Piaget believed that some kinds of cognitive structures were interrelated in the brain, and new knowledge(new information) would have to fit into the existing system (existing information) for it to be understood and consolidated. These mental maps are changed each time new information is incorporated, and it is this integration of new information that forces the cognitive structures to become more elaborate. Piaget’s theory contributed to a key concept of cognitivism, which recognizes learning as a process that constructs these complex mental maps inside the learner’s brain, and it explains the development of human intelligence.

Interestingly, previous studies found that positive emotions, such as happiness, interest and satisfaction, can effectively extend an individual’s attention span, enhance cognitive flexibility, and expand cognitive maps [11,12]. It was found that emotional arousal affects learning and memory via certain “factors” that modulate memory encoding and memory consolidation [11]. In modern neuroscience, we now recognize these “mental maps” to be “neural networks” involving neurons forming synapses with one another in the brain. As for the mysterious “factors” that can modulate memory, one such factor is believed to be biogenic amines that are released in the brain during positive emotions. Biogenic amines, such as serotonin and dopamine, are known to regulate synaptic plasticity, and synaptic plasticity is widely believed to be the cellular basis of learning and memory [13].

The extensive research of biogenic amines’ influence on synaptic plasticity can date back to Eric Kandel’s Nobel prize-winning work back in the 1960s, which involved the deciphering of long-lasting synaptic changes in the sea slug, Aplysia, in response to the plasticity-enhancing effect of serotonin [14]. In fruit flies, past studies have also shown that some of biogenic amines can modulate synaptic plasticity, and may play a role in learning and memory [15,16]. In humans, serotonin is known to be involved in emotions and motivation, as well as modulating learning and memory [17]. Dopamine, on the other hand, is another biogenic amine mostly associated with positive emotions [12]. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (a key component of the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system in the brain) has been shown to promote learning and motivation [18].

Humour has been shown to stimulate neuronal activities in the human nucleus accumbens [19]. In this region of the brain, fast dopamine fluctuations (in the order of seconds) support learning [20], whereas much slower dopamine changes (in the order of minutes) are involved in motivation [21,22]. Combining these neuroscience findings with the cognitivism learning theory, we developed a working model of how biogenic amines from positive emotions facilitate the formation of a neural network, connecting the (1) existing information, (2) new information, and (3) the pleasant/joyful experience (see figure below). After the formation of this neural network, when a person recalls the memory of any one of the three components, it will lead to neural signals being sent to the other two, which further reinforces the connections (classic Hebbian theory). Through this mechanism, learning and memory can be enhanced.

Working model of how biogenic amines from positive emotions facilitate the formation of a neural network in the brain of a learner. The model generated by integrating molecular neuroscience into the cognitivism learning theory. Pleasant/joyful experience stimulates the release of biogenic amines in the brain, which in turn facilitate the formation of a neural network among (1) existing information, (2) new information and (3) pleasant/joyful experience. Once the neural network is formed, firing of one group of neurons will likely result in the firing of the other two groups, resulting in reinforcement of synaptic connectivity and thereby memory as well.