Journal article
Contagious yawning and the brain
Brain research. Cognitive brain research, v 23(2-3), pp 448-452
01 May 2005
PMID: 15820652
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Contagious yawning, the onset of a yawn triggered by seeing, hearing, reading, or thinking about another person yawn is a well-documented phenomenon. The mechanisms that drive contagious yawning are as yet unknown, but there is recent evidence of a link between contagious yawning and self-processing (S.M. Platek, S.R. Critton, T.E. Myers, G.G. Gallup Jr., Contagious yawning: the role of self-awareness and mental state attribution, Cogn. Brain Res. 17 (2003) 223-227.) that is negatively impacted by schizotypal personality traits. The neural substrates involved in contagious yawning, however, are unknown. Here, using fMRI, we show that viewing someone yawn evokes unique neural activity in the posterior cingulate and precuneus. Because of the role these areas play in self-processing (e.g., self-referential processing, theory of mind, autobiographical memory), our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that contagious yawning may be part of a neural network involved in empathy.
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Details
- Title
- Contagious yawning and the brain
- Creators
- Steven M Platek - Drexel UniversityFeroze B Mohamed - Thomas Jefferson UniversityGordon G Gallup, Jr - University at Albany, State University of New York
- Publication Details
- Brain research. Cognitive brain research, v 23(2-3), pp 448-452
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 5
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000228883500029
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-17044364044
- Other Identifier
- 991021864441304721
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
- Neuroimaging
- Neurosciences