Laryngeal muscle activity in giggle: a damped oscillation model.

The acoustic properties of giggle, a mild form of laughter, were studied. The purpose was to determine if there is some uniqueness to the frequency and number of vocalization bursts in giggle. The underlying hypothesis was that a neuromechanical oscillator serves as an activator for rhythmic vocalizations, as in vibrato, with a pair of agonist-antagonist adductor muscles alternating in a 180 degrees phase relationship. Electromyographic activity of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle was always measured, in conjunction with either lateral cricoarytenoid or thyroarytenoid muscle activity. Results indicate that muscle activations do alternate and that these activations do not diminish during successive bursts, even though the amplitude and duty ratio of the bursts decreases. It is reasoned that reduced lung pressure and lung volume limit the number of bursts and their duty ratio, while speed of intrinsic laryngeal muscle contraction dictates the burst frequency.