Why do we yawn?

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

Volumn 34, Issue 8, 2010, Pages 1267-1276

  Guggisberg, Adrian G ^a   Mathis, Johannes ^b   Schnider, Armin ^a   Hess, Christian W ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA   (Switzerland)

^b UNIVERSITY OF BERN   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Arousal; Communication; Empathy; Evolution; Oxygen; Physiology; Social behaviour; Thermoregulation; Vigilance; Yawning

Indexed keywords

ANATOMY; AROUSAL; AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTION; BOREDOM; BRAIN BLOOD FLOW; BRAIN HYPOXIA; BRAIN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION; BRAIN TEMPERATURE; BREATHING; CIRCULATION; DROWSINESS; ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM; EMPATHY; HOMEOSTASIS; HUMAN; HYPERCAPNIA; HYPERTHERMIA; INHALATION; MENTAL STRESS; NEUROSCIENCE; NONHUMAN; NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION; PRESSURE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REVIEW; SOCIAL ADAPTATION; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR; SOMNOLENCE; THERMOREGULATION; YAWNING;

AGING; ANIMALS; AROUSAL; BODY TEMPERATURE REGULATION; BRAIN; HUMANS; MODELS, BIOLOGICAL; OXYGEN CONSUMPTION; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR; YAWNING;

EID: 77954084640     PISSN: 01497634     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.03.008     Document Type: Review

References (75)

1. Anderson J.R., Meno P. Psychological influences on yawning in children. Curr. Psychol. Lett. Behav. Brain Cogn. 2003, 11. http://cpl.revues.org/index390.html.
2. Anderson J.R., Myowa-Yamakoshi M., Matsuzawa T. Contagious yawning in chimpanzees. Process. Biol. Sci. 2004, 271(Suppl. 6):S468-S470.
3. Argiolas A., Melis M.R. The neuropharmacology of yawning. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 1998, 343:1-16.
4. Argiolas A., Melis M.R., Mauri A., Gessa G.L. Paraventricular nucleus lesion prevents yawning and penile erection induced by apomorphine and oxytocin but not by ACTH in rats. Brain Res. 1987, 421:349-352.
5. Arnott S.R., Singhal A., Goodale M.A. An investigation of auditory contagious yawning. Cogn. Affect. Behav. Neurosci. 2009, 9:335-342.
6. Askenasy J.J., Askenasy N. Inhibition of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during yawning. Clin. Auton. Res. 1996, 6:237-239.
7. Baenninger R. Some comparative aspects of yawning in Betta splendens, Homo sapiens, Panthera leo, and Papio sphinx. J. Comp. Psychol. 1987, 101:349-354.
8. Baenninger R. On yawning and its functions. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 1997, 4:198-207.
9. Baenninger R., Greco M. Some antecedents and consequences of yawning. Psychol. Rec. 1991, 41:453-460.
10. Barbizet J. Yawning. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1958, 21:203-209.
11. Barry R.J., Rushby J.A., Wallace M.J., Clarke A.R., Johnstone S.J., Zlojutro I. Caffeine effects on resting-state arousal. Clin. Neurophysiol. 2005, 116:2693-2700.
12. Borbely A.A., Baumann F., Brandeis D., Strauch I., Lehmann D. Sleep deprivation: effect on sleep stages and EEG power density in man. Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. 1981, 51:483-495.
13. Cahill C.A. Yawn maneuver to prevent atelectasis. AORN J. 1978, 27:1000-1004.
14. Campbell M.W., Carter J.D., Proctor D., Eisenberg M.L., de Waal F.B. Computer animations stimulate contagious yawning in chimpanzees. Process. Biol. Sci. 2009, 276:4255-4259.
15. Carrington S.J., Bailey A.J. Are there theory of mind regions in the brain? A review of the neuroimaging literature. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2009, 30:2313-2335.
16. De Gennaro L., Ferrara M., Bertini M. The boundary between wakefulness and sleep: quantitative electroencephalographic changes during the sleep onset period. Neuroscience 2001, 107:1-11.
17. De Gennaro L., Ferrara M., Curcio G., Cristiani R. Antero-posterior EEG changes during the wakefulness-sleep transition. Clin. Neurophysiol. 2001, 112:1901-1911.
18. Deputte B.L. Ethological study of yawning in primates. 1. Quantitative analysis and study of causation in two species of old world monkeys (Cercocebus albigena and Macaca fascicularis). Ethology 1994, 98:221-245.
19. Doghramji K., Mitler M.M., Sangal R.B., Shapiro C., Taylor S., Walsleben J., Belisle C., Erman M.K., Hayduk R., Hosn R., O'Malley E.B., Sangal J.M., Schutte S.L., Youakim J.M. A normative study of the maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT). Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. 1997, 103:554-562.
20. Forrester J.M. Is yawning a brainstem phenomenon?. Lancet 1988, 1:596.
21. Gallup A.C., Gallup G.G. Yawning as a brain cooling mechanism: nasal breathing and forehead cooling diminish the incidence of contagious yawning. Evol. Psychol. 2007, 5:92-101.
22. Gallup A.C., Gallup G.G. Yawning and thermoregulation. Physiol. Behav. 2008, 95:10-16.
23. Gallup A.C., Miller M.L., Clark A.B. Yawning and thermoregulation in budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulates. Anim. Behav. 2009, 77:109-113.
24. Giganti F., Hayes M.J., Akilesh M.R., Salzarulo P. Yawning and behavioral states in premature infants. Dev. Psychobiol. 2002, 41:289-296.
25. Giganti F., Hayes M.J., Cioni G., Salzarulo P. Yawning frequency and distribution in preterm and near term infants assessed throughout 24-h recordings. Infant Behav. Dev. 2007, 30:641-647.
26. Greco M., Baenninger R. Effects of yawning and related activities on skin conductance and heart rate. Physiol. Behav. 1991, 50:1067-1069.
27. Greco M., Baenninger R., Govern J. On the context of yawning: when, where, and why?. Psychol. Rec. 1993, 43:175-183.
28. Guggisberg A.G., Mathis J., Herrmann U.S., Hess C.W. The functional relationship between yawning and vigilance. Behav. Brain Res. 2007, 179:159-166.
29. Hadidian J. Yawning in an old world monkey, Macaca nigra. Behaviour 1980, 75:133-147.
30. Haker H., Rossler W. Empathy in schizophrenia: impaired resonance. Eur. Arch. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2009, 259:352-361.
31. Harr A.L., Gilbert V.R., Phillips K.A. Do dogs (Canis familiaris) show contagious yawning?. Anim. Cogn. 2009, 12:833-837.
32. Hasler C.T., Suski C.D., Hanson K.C., Cooke S.J., Tufts B.L. The influence of dissolved oxygen on winter habitat selection by largemouth bass: an integration of field biotelemetry studies and laboratory experiments. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 2009, 82:143-152.
33. Joly-Mascheroni R.M., Senju A., Shepherd A.J. Dogs catch human yawns. Biol. Lett. 2008, 4:446-448.
34. Kasuya Y., Murakami T., Oshima T., Dohi S. Does yawning represent a transient arousal-shift during intravenous induction of general anesthesia?. Anesth. Analg. 2005, 101:382-384.
35. Kita I., Sato-Suzuki I., Oguri M., Arita H. Yawning responses induced by local hypoxia in the paraventricular nucleus of the rat. Behav. Brain Res. 2000, 117:119-126.
36. Laing J.V., Ogilvie R.D. EEG correlates of yawning during sleep onset. Sleep Res. 1988, 17:98.
37. Laskiewicz A. Yawning with regard to the respiratory organs and the ear. Acta Otolaryngol. 1953, 43:267-270.
38. Lawrence C.A., Barry R.J., Clarke A.R., Johnstone S.J., McCarthy R., Selikowitz M., Broyd S.J. Methylphenidate effects in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: electrodermal and ERP measures during a continuous performance task. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 2005, 183:81-91.
39. Lehmann H.E. Yawning. A homeostatic reflex and its psychological significance. Bull. Menninger Clin. 1979, 43:123-126.
40. Littner M.R., Kushida C., Wise M., Davila D.G., Morgenthaler T., Lee-Chiong T., Hirshkowitz M., Daniel L.L., Bailey D., Berry R.B., Kapen S., Kramer M. Practice parameters for clinical use of the multiple sleep latency test and the maintenance of wakefulness test. Sleep 2005, 28:113-121.
41. Matikainen J., Elo H. Does yawning increase arousal through mechanical stimulation of the carotid body?. Med. Hypotheses 2008, 70:488-492.
42. McKenzie A.A. The tonsillar evacuation hypothesis of yawning behavior. S. Afr. J. Sci. 1994, 90:64-66.
43. Moruzzi G., Magoun H.W. Brain stem reticular formation and activation of the EEG. Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. 1949, 1:455-473.
44. Nahab F.B., Hattori N., Saad Z.S., Hallett M. Contagious yawning and the frontal lobe: an fMRI study. Hum. Brain Mapp. 2009, 30:1744-1751.
45. Palagi E., Leone A., Mancini G., Ferrari P.F. Contagious yawning in gelada baboons as a possible expression of empathy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2009, 106:19262-19267.
46. Paukner A., Anderson J.R. Video-induced yawning in stumptail macaques (Macaca arctoides). Biol. Lett. 2006, 2:36-38.
47. Platek S.M., Critton S.R., Myers T.E., Gallup G.G. Contagious yawning: the role of self-awareness and mental state attribution. Brain Res. Cogn. Brain Res. 2003, 17:223-227.
48. Platek S.M., Mohamed F.B., Gallup G.G. Contagious yawning and the brain. Brain Res. Cogn. Brain Res. 2005, 23:448-452.
49. Provine R.R. Contagious yawning and infant imitation. Bull. Psychonom. Soc. 1989, 27:125-126.
50. Provine R.R. Faces as releasers of contagious yawning: an approach to face detection using normal human subjects. Bull. Psychonom. Soc. 1989, 27:211-214.
51. Provine R.R. Yawning. Am. Sci. 2005, 93:532-539.
52. Provine R.R. Yawning as a stereotyped action pattern and releasing stimulus. Ethology 1986, 72:109-122.
53. Provine R.R., Hamernik H.B. Yawning: effects of stimulus interest. Bull. Psychonom. Soc. 1986, 24:437-438.
54. Provine R.R., Hamernik H.B., Curchack B.C. Yawning: relation to sleeping and stretching in humans. Ethology 1987, 76:152-160.
55. 2, and exercise. Behav. Neural Biol. 1987, 48:382-393.
56. Regehr K.L., Ogilvie R.D., Simons I.A. Electrophysiological correlates of yawning. Sleep Res. 1992, 21:14.
57. Rizzolatti G., Craighero L. The mirror-neuron system. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 2004, 27:169-192.
58. Sato-Suzuki I., Kita I., Oguri M., Arita H. Stereotyped yawning responses induced by electrical and chemical stimulation of paraventricular nucleus of the rat. J. Neurophysiol. 1998, 80:2765-2775.
59. Sauer E.G., Sauer E.M. Yawning and other maintenance activities in the South African Ostrich. Auk 1967, 84:571-587.
60. Saxe R., Carey S., Kanwisher N. Understanding other minds: linking developmental psychology and functional neuroimaging. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2004, 55:87-124.
61. Schiller F. Yawning?. J. Hist. Neurosci. 2002, 11:392-401.
62. Schurmann M., Hesse M.D., Stephan K.E., Saarela M., Zilles K., Hari R., Fink G.R. Yearning to yawn: the neural basis of contagious yawning. Neuroimage 2005, 24:1260-1264.
63. Seki Y., Sato-Suzuki I., Kita I., Oguri M., Arita H. Yawning/cortical activation induced by microinjection of histamine into the paraventricular nucleus of the rat. Behav. Brain Res. 2002, 134:75-82.
64. Senju A., Maeda M., Kikuchi Y., Hasegawa T., Tojo Y., Osanai H. Absence of contagious yawning in children with autism spectrum disorder. Biol. Lett. 2007, 3:706-708.
65. Sforza E., Jouny C., Ibanez V. Cardiac activation during arousal in humans: further evidence for hierarchy in the arousal response. Clin. Neurophysiol. 2000, 111:1611-1619.
66. Smith E.O. Yawning: an evolutionary perspective. Hum. Evol. 1999, 14:191-198.
67. Tanaka H., Hayashi M., Hori T. Topographical characteristics and principal component structure of the hypnagogic EEG. Sleep 1997, 20:523-534.
68. Trautmann, R., 1901. Le bâillement. Thesis. Bordeaux; 1901.
69. Vick S.J., Paukner A. Variation and context of yawns in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am. J. Primatol. 2010, 72:262-269.
70. Walusinski O. Yawning in diseases. Eur. Neurol. 2009, 62:180-187.
71. Walusinski O., Deputte B.L. Le bâillement: phylogenèse, éthologie, nosogénie. Rev. Neurol. (Paris) 2004, 160:1011-1021.
72. Weller M.P. Yawning. Lancet 1988, 1:950.
73. Winther B., Gwaltney J.M., Phillips C.D., Hendley J.O. Radiopaque contrast dye in nasopharynx reaches the middle ear during swallowing and/or yawning. Acta Otolaryngol. 2005, 125:625-628.
74. Zilli I., Giganti F., Salzarulo P. Yawning in morning and evening types. Physiol. Behav. 2007, 91:218-222.
75. Zilli I., Giganti F., Uga V. Yawning and subjective sleepiness in the elderly. J. Sleep Res. 2008, 17:303-308.