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Full-Text Articles in Biology
A Thermal Window For Yawning In Humans: Yawning As A Brain Cooling Mechanism, Jorg J. M. Massen, Kim Dusch, Omar T. Eldakar, Andrew C. Gallup
A Thermal Window For Yawning In Humans: Yawning As A Brain Cooling Mechanism, Jorg J. M. Massen, Kim Dusch, Omar T. Eldakar, Andrew C. Gallup
Biology Faculty Articles
The thermoregulatory theory of yawning posits that yawns function to cool the brain in part due to counter-current heat exchange with the deep inhalation of ambient air. Consequently, yawning should be constrained to an optimal thermal zone or range of temperature, i.e., a thermal window, in which we should expect a lower frequency at extreme temperatures. Previous research shows that yawn frequency diminishes as ambient temperatures rise and approach body temperature, but a lower bound to the thermal window has not been demonstrated. To test this, a total of 120 pedestrians were sampled for susceptibly to self-reported yawn contagion during …
The Thermoregulatory Theory Of Yawning: What We Know From Over Five Years Of Research, Andrew C. Gallup, Omar Tonsi Eldakar
The Thermoregulatory Theory Of Yawning: What We Know From Over Five Years Of Research, Andrew C. Gallup, Omar Tonsi Eldakar
Biology Faculty Articles
Over the past 5 years numerous reports have confirmed and replicated the specific brain cooling and thermal window predictions derived from the thermoregulatory theory of yawning, and no study has found evidence contrary to these findings. Here we review the comparative research supporting this model of yawning among homeotherms, while highlighting a recent report showing how the expression of contagious yawning in humans is altered by seasonal climate variation. The fact that yawning is constrained to a thermal window of ambient temperature provides unique and compelling support in favor of this theory. Heretofore, no existing alternative hypothesis of yawning can …
Contagious Yawning And Seasonal Climate Variation, Andrew C. Gallup, Omar Tonsi Eldakar
Contagious Yawning And Seasonal Climate Variation, Andrew C. Gallup, Omar Tonsi Eldakar
Biology Faculty Articles
Recent evidence suggests that yawning is a thermoregulatory behavior. To explore this possibility further, the frequency of contagious yawning in humans was measured while outdoors in a desert climate in the United States during two distinct temperature ranges and seasons (winter: 22°C; early summer: 37°C). As predicted, the proportion of pedestrians who yawned in response to seeing pictures of people yawning differed significantly between the two conditions (winter: 45%; summer: 24%). Across conditions yawning occurred at lower ambient temperatures, and the tendency to yawn during each season was associated with the length of time spent outside prior to being tested. …