What is the pathological laughter condition that affects the Joker?
Thanks for asking. The Joker from the Batman universe is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating characters ever created.
He's been reimagined countless times, not only in comics but also in video games, TV shows and films.
It's definitely no exaggeration to say he's become a staple of pop culture.
For actors, playing the Joker is a once -in -a -lifetime opportunity.
Who could forget the late Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for his incredible portrayal in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight back in 2008?
More recently, Joaquin Phoenix has blown audiences away with his 2019 and 2024 performances, directed by Todd Phillips.
The 2019 film was the first to really explore the Joker's backstory and it would go on to generate more than $1 million in box offices worldwide.
In it, we get to know a lot more about Arthur Fleck, a man who suffers from a condition that causes uncontrollable laughing fits that are so intense that they unsettle everyone around him.
Phoenix's portrayal earned him both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
What many people don't realise though is that the pathological laughter he depicts in the film actually exists in real life.
No way! You're telling me people can really laugh in such an uncontrollable way?
Yes indeed, and sadly for those who suffer from it, it's not funny at all.
The condition was first described by French neurologist Charles Ferre in 1903.
He called it Fourier Prodromique, but in English the most commonly used term is the Pseudobulber effect.
An article in the Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics in 2011 defined it as uncontrollable outbursts of laughter or crying that are inappropriate to the patient's external circumstances and incongruent with the patient's internal emotional state.
That certainly matches memorable scenes from the Joker, like when Arthur Fleck tries to make a child laugh on the bus to the displeasure of the child's mother, or when he meets his social worker having been beaten up by a group of youths.
Welshman Paul Pugh is a real life example of someone affected by pathological laughter.
In his case it came on after he was attacked by a gang of four men on a night out in 2007 and suffered serious brain injuries.
Talking to charity Headway he said, Why can't they stop then?
People affected by pathological laughter suffer from pseudobulber effects, a neurological condition that triggers their uncontrollable episodes of laughing or crying.
It's often misdiagnosed as a mood disorder like depression or bipolar.
In other cases some people may experience laughing fits if they have an abscess in their right frontal lobe, preventing them from controlling their laughter.
The right frontal lobe essentially tells us when it's socially acceptable to laugh.
There you have it. Now you know what pathological laughter is.
In under three minutes we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines.
Listen along and you will really know for sure.
