What makes us ticklish?

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What makes us ticklish?
Thanks for asking.
Whether it's as kids in the school playground, falling around with our first partner as a teenager, or with our own kids when we become parents, tickling is generally synonymous with moments of playful fun. Of course, tickling can bring on strong reactions, and some people hate it, so it's important to only do it to someone if they don't object, no matter how harmless it might seem to you. Some people are just way more sensitive to it than others, and might start laughing or cringing at the slightest touch, or even in anticipation of being tickled. There are actually two types of tickles, Nismesis and Gargalesis. Nismesis is the light, feather-like type of tickling, which doesn't usually induce laughter. It's more like an itching sensation, if anything. On the other hand, Gargalesis is harder, and triggers a nervous reaction, which can lead to fits of laughter and squirming. Why are some parts of our bodies more sensitive to tickling than others? We have nerve endings called tactile corpuscles, or Meissner's corpuscles in our skin. These sensory receptors are highly sensitive to touch. They're found under certain areas of skin, and there are a lot of them on the sole of the foot, the armpit and under the ribs, for example. That explains why those parts of the body are most sensitive to tickling. The receptors send a message to our brain, and more specifically the somatosensory cortex. That part of the brain processes touch, pain, temperature and pressure sensations. As we age, we gradually start losing our touch receptors, which may explain why you feel like you're less ticklish than you used to be. Why can't I tickle myself? That's for a simple reason. When you go to tickle yourself, the cerebellum can anticipate and therefore ignore the sensation. It doesn't react as strongly as when someone else tickles you. And that's because it's able to distinguish between sensations we're inflecting on ourselves and unexpected ones.
It's an example of a phenomenon known as sensory attenuation. Our brain simply doesn't detect the sensation as a threat. It's more concerned with looking out for unexpected external stimuli, so it can react to any danger.
There you have it.
Now you know what makes us ticklish. 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 it for sure.