Tickling is a complex phenomenon without a clear scientific definition, involving sensory and neurological factors.

• Tickling involves a range of sensory and neurological elements, making it difficult to define scientifically.
• The evolutionary significance of tickling is unclear, prompting questions about why people feel ticklish.

Tickling has been suggested to have social and protective purposes.

• Tickling might promote social bonding between friends.
• It could also serve as an alarm system to alert to the sensation of something crawling on the skin.
• The tickle response becomes humorous when the brain recognizes the sensations as coming from another human.

Self-tickling is ineffective due to the brain's ability to predict and suppress the sensation.

• Attempting to tickle oneself doesn't work because the brain predicts the sensation.
• The cerebellum inside the brain can predict how sensations on the skin will feel and suppress the tickle response.
• Scientists have demonstrated decreased activity in brain areas associated with the tickle response during self-tickling.

When tickled by others, the brain's inability to predict sensations results in a tickle response.

• The tickle response from others occurs because the brain can't predict the sensations on the skin.
• The inability to suppress the tickler response alerts a person to the tickler's presence.

One can suppress the tickle response and protect oneself from being tickled by touching the tickler's hands.

• To disarm a potential tickler, place your hands on top of theirs.
• This action allows the brain to predict the sensations better and suppress the tickle response.