Why is it that if you tickle yourself it doesn't tickle?

[vishenda]

There are so many external and internal stimuli hitting you at once that your brain has learned to filter them out.

The first ones that get ignored are ones that you do; which is why you probably don't notice your vocal chords when you talk, your tongue movements when you chew and why you can't tickle yourself.

When you are tickled, your laughter is the reaction that occurred because that ticklish feeling sends us into a state of panic. You most likely weren't expecting that person to sneak up behind you and tickle your sides, were you? This was probably a defense mechanism that developed in our cave-men ancestors to detect predators.

When you try to tickle yourself you are in complete control of the situation, there is no need to get tense and therefore there is no reaction.

The part of the brain that cancels out stimuli it is expecting is called the cerebellum. The cauliflower-like mass can be found at the back, under the brain. The cerebellum is known to basically be the party planner, it coordinates movement control in relation to sensory signals received in other areas of your brain.

It is possible to tickle yourself though!!!

You would have to fool your cerebellum. Studies have shown that with as little of a 200-millisecond delay between you moving your hand and the tickling, you would react. However there is only one way to do this- by remote control.
Did you know?

Science has been able to design a robot that allows people to tickle themselves. To use the machine you would have to lie on your back with your eyes closed. The robot, located near you, would have a piece of soft foam attached to a plastic rod which you would control by joystick. You would maneuver the remote control and after a short delay, would respond. This takes advantage of the delay in the cerebellum.

[PrincessPerky]

So does that mean that non tickelsih people are not as well protected from suprise? or more protected?

and how does that explain the voluntary ticklish? (DH and DD are only tickleish if they chose to be..weird)

I on the on the hand have no tickling policy, no one tickles momma..

[JanH]

That's my philosophy--No One Tickles The Mom

[toys]

I accidentally tickle myself all the time.

My feet are by far the worst... I can't ever scratch/scrub them without a tickle... even when I'm fully aware (and it's not a surprise or remote control).

[jodi]

I believe it's mind over matter. Years ago I convinced myself that I wasn't ticklish, after someone told me it was all in your head - and I was able to stop being ticklish by really believing it (or maybe I was just learning to anticipate better the unexpected!). I am still not ticklish, except if you catch me really off guard, in only one or two spots...but I'm not telling where

[tinapbeana]

one spot i know everyone can tickle themselves (even me, who's only ticklish 1 other place).

very lightly run your fingertip along the roof of your mouth. YIKES!!! left side of my mouth is much more ticklish than the right, so try a couple of different spots.

[Mathew Green]

If people are only ticklish because they don't expect to be touched, there is no way on earth to explain why a ticklish person can be tickled by someone they know is going to touch them with their full permission. The classic example is teens and 20-somethings that can barely stand to have a doctor prod their belly because the light finger contact between pokes tickles so much. That exception alone is reason enough to reject the 'surprise' theory.

And I too will add evidence that you can tickle yourself, even though most of your tickle spots are imune to your own touch. There is a spot on the inside of each thigh just below your [a-hem ] which seems to retain the tickle sensation your whole life. I'm in my mid-50's and can still tickle myself there on either leg. The odd thing about that area is that it seems to only have one 'tickle level'. Trying to tickle harder or faster there doesn't make it tickle more, in fact it turns the sensation from a tickle into just the feeling you'd get by rubbing your fingertips along your arm.

[PrincessPerky]

try the roof of your mouth with your toung..nicer.

and suprise can't explain why my son will disolve into giggles when you'vrook' your finger at him..no contact, and certainly no suprise!

[cptacek]

My boyfriend can tickle me from across the room or over the phone. He gets this funny voice and says "tickle tickle" like he is talking to a little kid and it just cracks me up!! In fact, I just started laughing about it right now just thinking about it.