You Cannot Tickle Yourself, and Science Knows Why
To tickle is to touch lightly and provoke laughter. Self-tickling fails because the brain predicts your own movements and dampens the sensation.
To tickle is to touch someone lightly so as to cause laughter or twitching. Trying it on yourself does not work, and the reason is measurable: the cerebellum predicts the sensory result of your own movements and reduces the response, so a self-generated touch registers as far less intense than the same touch from someone else. The prediction is what removes the surprise.
- To touch lightly. *Stop tickling me.*
- To amuse. *The remark tickled her.*
- A light sensation. *A tickle in the throat.*
- Tickled pink — delighted. *She was tickled pink.*
- Ticklish — sensitive, or awkward. *A ticklish question.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | tickle | Tickle the baby. |
| Past | tickled | It tickled. |
| Noun | tickle | A slight tickle. |
| Adjective | ticklish | Very ticklish. |
| Idiom | tickled pink | Tickled pink. |
- The wool tickles my neck.Sensation.
- That joke tickled me.Amusement.
- It is a ticklish problem.Delicate or awkward.
Two kinds of tickling
- Knismesis — light movement that causes itching rather than laughter
- Gargalesis — harder tickling that provokes laughter, mostly in the ribs and feet
- Laughter is not enjoyment — tickling can be distressing even while producing laughs
- Self-tickling fails because your brain predicts the touch and dampens it
- Great apes show tickle-like play behaviour too
Middle English *tikelen*, probably a frequentative of *tick*, to touch lightly, and partly imitative. It is recorded from the 1300s.
Why can't you tickle yourself?
The cerebellum predicts the result of your own movements and reduces the sensory response, so the touch does not register as a surprise.
Where does tickled pink come from?
From the idea of laughing until your face flushes. It is recorded from the early twentieth century.