Watch rats being tickled, all in the name of science

Many of us have tickle spots; regions of our body that make us smile or even roar with laughter when touched. But have you ever wondered what the sensation actually is, or why it elicits such a response? Researchers from Humboldt University in Berlin not only want to learn the mechanisms behind this, they’re tickling rats in an attempt to unlock its secrets. By measuring sounds made by the rats, and filming them while they were being touched, the team identified neurons in the brain tied to ticklishness