Scientists have confirmed that ticklish 'hotspots' on the human body are the same across different cultures, according to a study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.
Researchers found that people around the world struggle to bear being tickled on their necks, armpits, tummies and feet. The team said the findings suggest ticklishness is distinct from other bodily sensations such as ordinary touch or pain.
The researchers wrote that different theories have been proposed throughout human history to explain why certain areas of the body are more ticklish than others. Using multivariate machine learning techniques, the study revealed a high-resolution bodily map of human ticklishness that was generalizable across cultures, identifying the armpits, sides of the trunk and foot soles as the main ticklish hotspots.
The team pointed out that these areas are not frequently touched in day-to-day life, which could explain why people show a stronger surprise response when tickled there.
How the study was conducted
The scientists, from Radboud University in the Netherlands, recruited nearly 450 participants from three cultural backgrounds: Chinese, Dutch and Greek. Across all groups, 71 percent rated themselves as moderately to very ticklish, with laughter described as the most common reaction.
Participants were asked to indicate where they were most sensitive, allowing the researchers to build a body map of ticklishness. They wrote that the resulting maps showed a highly organised representation of ticklishness, with significant clusters on the neck, armpits, abdomen and foot soles when tickled by family or friends. The researchers also found that when a romantic partner initiates tickling, the groin and inner thigh area becomes a hotspot too.
Links to great apes
The researchers said the phenomenology of ticklishness revealed in their study closely mirrors reports in great apes, in both captive and wild settings. They noted that tickling is done using the hands and fingers, targeting the armpits, soles of the feet, belly and neck, and eliciting laughter, just as great apes tickle other members of their species on the same areas.
The team explained that in both humans and great apes, tickling happens more often between individuals who share a closer bond. It is also most likely to be carried out by an older individual on a younger person being tickled, and the frequency of being tickled decreases from childhood to adulthood. The researchers said these patterns strongly suggest tickling is an evolutionarily rooted trait shared across hominids, though they added that its precise function remains unclear.
Earlier research on tickle laughter
A previous study published in 2024 found that shrieks induced by tickling sound recognisably different from other types of giggles. In a listening experiment, around 200 people identified tickling-induced laughter with about 60 percent accuracy, distinguishing it from laughter at a joke, something funny, or a humorous mishap happening to someone else.
A second listening experiment, along with AI analysis of 887 YouTube clips, found that ticklish laughter shows less vocal control than other types, and participants rated it as more involuntary. That research, from the University of Amsterdam, said the findings highlight tickling as an evolutionarily ancient play behavior.
