The laughter of tiny babies is not just a phenomenally popular theme for YouTube videos, it is also a fantastic window into the workings of the human brain. You can’t laugh unless you get the joke and neither can a baby. At Goldsmiths InfantLab we study how babies learn about the world. We believe that studying early laughter in detail will throw new light on the workings of babies’ brains, as well as offering new insights into the uniquely human characteristic that is humour.

There are LOTS of ways you and your baby can help us:

1. Send us laughing baby videos
We want know about all the different and surprising things that make babies laugh. Already, we been sent some wonderful videos, including a video of the world’s youngest ever fan of tearing paper. If you find a good video online, let us know. Better yet find a baby and film one of your own and send us the link.

2. Submit a baby laughter field report
We are very interested in the particular incidents that make babies laugh. Who was present? What was so funny? Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends are all encouraged to file a short ‘field report‘ on their infant observations.

3. Follow the blog
We will be keeping a record of our progress and posting our findings on our blog. We also post new laughing baby videos so please keep sending them in. To keep up to date follow us on twitter or subscribe to our laughing baby blog RSS feed.

Thank you,
Dr. Caspar Addyman
Follow @czzpr