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health advisory Hospital Doctor Yu 2007-11-8 19:08:56

Answers:

The yawn reflex is often described as contagious: if one person yawns, this will cause another person to "sympathetically" yawn.[2] The reasons for this are unclear; however, recent research suggests that yawning might be a herd instinct.[3] Other theories suggest that the yawn serves to synchronize mood behavior among gregarious animals, similar to the howling of the wolf pack during a full moon. It signals tiredness to other members of the group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods of activity. It can serve as a warning in displaying large, canine teeth. This phenomenon has been observed among various primates. The threat gesture is a way of maintaining order in the primates' social structure. The contagion of yawning is interspecific (i.e., try yawning in front of your dog). Yawning in public is generally regarded as impolite in the West, but came into fashion in polite French society for a brief period in the late 18th century. Oddly, sometimes sympathetic yawning may be caused by simply looking at a picture of a person or animal yawning, or even seeing the word "yawn".

Adelie Penguins employ yawning as part of their courtship ritual. Penguin couples face off and the males engage in what is described as an "ecstatic display," their beaks open wide and their faces pointed skyward. This trait has also been seen among Emperor Penguins. Researchers have been attempting to discover why these two different species share this trait, despite not sharing a habitat.

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I don't know, but after I read your ? I yawned !! Hope we get an answer to your ? !

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People yawn because they need deeper breaths and thus more oxygen. It's inherent when other people in your group yawn that instinctively (or b/c you need more yourself) you yawn - not really contagious though - unlike cuddies ;-)

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Well, i think that you see someone else yawning your brain senses something is wrong in the envoronment. so therefor since humans depend on eachother the body reacts and does the same thing that the other person does. that is my answer

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In the past decade, scientists have discovered the existence of specific neurons in your brain that they believe to be the very root of sympathy. These neurons, affectionately termed 鈥渕irror neurons,鈥?are concentrated in specific areas of your brain such as the pre-motor cortex in the frontal lobe. Mirror neurons fire (produce action potentials) both when one is performing an action and when one is watching someone else perform the same action. They are the reason why one cries when watching a sad movie, gets embarrassed for he who humiliates himself, and yawns upon seeing someone else yawn.

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