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Neuroscience has tended to focus on negative emotions like

anger and fear, but I’m interested in positive emotions. That’s

why I study laughter.

Laughter is older than us. It’s an old mammalian behaviour to do

with social bonding and play. Humour, on the other hand, has been

around for as long as we’ve had language. We can tell from papyrus

scrolls that the Ancient Egyptians made terrible jokes about

pharaohs. There’s also a Roman joke book.

I’ve done stand-up comedy. It was the only time my father ever

said he was proud of me! I’ve performed at the Bright Club – a

stand-up science comedy show – for a few years and I’ve really

enjoyed it. It’s made me change how I approach things. I now try to

put more comedy into my science talks.

Exercise is really important to me. I joined a running group on

Facebook and now I run every day. You can upload photos or post

descriptions of your run, and those in the group can offer support.

It’s amazing how uplifting it can be; a virtual group of people that

I’ve never met can get me out and running even on the rainiest of

days. It’s a use of social media I would never have predicted.

I’m a bit of a control freak. I can be unbelievably bossy. But I’m

aware of that, so I try to moderate it. I also pick my nails. I’m a

bossy picker.

My favourite place is Blackpool Pleasure Beach. I grew up in

Lancashire but my parents were from the south of England. They

thought Blackpool was extremely glamorous, so we used to go and

see the illuminations there every year. I now visit with my own family

and just adore it. There’s nowhere quite like it.

You know sometimes when you laugh really hard and you double

up, and you can’t control your movements? I’d really like to

understand why that happens. From an evolutionary perspective,

it’s incredibly unhelpful, a real physical weakness. You wouldn’t

want to be a caveman rolling around on the floor in fits when a tiger

comes along.

My favourite joke is: I can’t dance to this. My first husband was

killed in a love shack.

I’d love to go north of the Arctic Circle to see the Northern

Lights. I’d like to go to Lapland in the middle in the winter when it’s

all dark and snowy, and take my whole family on an adventure. ß

Neuroscientist at University College London

MY LIFE SCIENTIFIC

SOPHIE SCOTT

ILLUSTRATION: PAUL TYSALL

SCIENCE