The mere mention of the word “tickle” can elicit a variety of reactions. For one person, tickling can represent play, while it can be the source of a sexual response for another, and for some, it has ...

NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — Ever try to tickle yourself? Go ahead, stroke your own armpit or foot sole right now. Feel absolutely nothing? That’s because your brain is playing a fascinating trick on you — ...

The human response to being tickled is really danged weird. When someone pokes another someone just so, the result is often spontaneous, uncontrollable laughter. This response is known as gargalesis, ...

If you’re ticklish, you know that strange mix of pleasure, surprise, and weirdness when someone finds your ticklish spots. But have you noticed that some people aren’t ticklish? And some people enjoy ...

Inside a Berlin neuroscience lab one day last year, Subject 1 sat on a chair with their arms up and their bare toes pointed down. Hiding behind them, with full access to the soles of their feet, was ...