Why is Yawning Contagious?
Article Sources
- 1. Rundle, Brian K., et al. 'Contagious Yawning and Psychopathy.' Personality and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 5 June 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886915003645
- 2. Carey, Teresa. 'Why Are Yawns Contagious? We Asked a Scientist.' PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 July 2018, www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-are-yawns-contagious-we-asked-a-scientist#:~:text=What is known is that,imitate the actions of others
- 3. AC;, Massen JJ;Dusch K;Eldakar OT;Gallup. 'A Thermal Window for Yawning in Humans: Yawning as a Brain Cooling Mechanism.' Physiology & Behavior, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24721675/
- 4. Norscia, Ivan, et al. 'Auditory Contagious Yawning Is Highest Between Friends and Family Members: Support to the Emotional Bias Hypothesis.' Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 3 Apr. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7147458/
- 5. Nahab, Fatta B. 'Exploring Yawning with Neuroimaging.' Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4041699/
- 6. Featured Neuroscience Psychology, May 22, 2018, et al. 'Why Do We Yawn and Why Is Yawning So Contagious?' Neuroscience News, 22 May 2018, neurosciencenews.com/yawning-contagious-9112/
- 7. St. Louis Public Radio | By Eli Chen. 'Contagious Yawning, Laughing and Scratching Gives Clues to How the Human Brain Works.' St. Louis Public Radio, 27 Mar. 2017, news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2017-03-25/contagious-yawning-laughing-and-scratching-gives-clues-to-how-the-human-brain-works
- 8. 'Yawning: Causes and Reasons for Contagious Yawning.' Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414#Can-one-yawn-too-much
Do All Animals Yawn?
All animals do yawn, including fish, birds and mammals, but they don't all experience contagious yawning. Yawning in animals appears to be more of a primitive reflex that's controlled by the brain stem. Interestingly enough, the bigger the brain, the bigger the yawn.
There are only two species that are known to catch yawns as humans do. These are canines and primates, and both are animals that experience empathy.8‘Yawning: Causes and Reasons for Contagious Yawning.’ Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414#Can-one-yawn-too-much
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