Why do rats laugh? Interview with Jaak Panksepp - präsentiert von Braincast

What is emotion in humans? Do dogs also have emotions? And why would scientists tickle rats to understand the neural mechanisms of emotion? Jaap Panksepp, internationally renowned psychobiologist and emeritus from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, coined the term “affective neuroscience“ and states that it can help us understand how our brain works. This interview was held by Arvid Leyh in the “Languages of Emotion Cluster of Excellence“ of Freie Universität Berlin in June 2011. Arvid Leyh presents interviews with neuroscientists on a regular basis on He is also editor-in-chief of 0m20s Prof. Panksepp, you are probably the most famous tickler of rats. And you coined the termin “affective neuroscience“. So to start with an easy question: What are emotions? 3m48s How can we define emotions if we even can’t define the redness of a rose? 9m10s You know perfectly how to describe feelings and emotions. But your research is about the brain. Where are emo