Le bâillement, du réflexe à la pathologie
Le bâillement : de l'éthologie à la médecine clinique
Le bâillement : phylogenèse, éthologie, nosogénie
 Le bâillement : un comportement universel
La parakinésie brachiale oscitante
Yawning: its cycle, its role
Warum gähnen wir ?
 
Fetal yawning assessed by 3D and 4D sonography
Le bâillement foetal
Le bâillement, du réflexe à la pathologie
Le bâillement : de l'éthologie à la médecine clinique
Le bâillement : phylogenèse, éthologie, nosogénie
 Le bâillement : un comportement universel
La parakinésie brachiale oscitante
Yawning: its cycle, its role
Warum gähnen wir ?
 
Fetal yawning assessed by 3D and 4D sonography
Le bâillement foetal
http://www.baillement.com
mystery of yawning 
 
resolutionmini

mise à jour du
25 juillet 2014
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
2014;126:275&endash;279
4D ultrasound study of fetal facial expressions
at 20-24weeks of gestation
Sato M, Kanenishi K, Hanaoka U, Noguchi J, Marumo G, Hata T.
 
Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa
University School of Medicine, Miki, Japan

Chat-logomini

Tous les articles consacrés au bâillement foetal
Fetal yawning: all publications
 
Bâillements du foetus: la naissance d'un comportement
révèlée par l'échographie 4D
 
Une video de bâillement foetal à 23 semaines en Echo 4D
Video de bâillement foetal à 13 semaines en Echo 4D
 
Sonography Edited by: Kerry Thoirs
Fetal Yawning Olivier Walusinski
Chapter 18 Pages 325-332
 
Piontelli A. Fetal Yawning in Development of Normal Fetal Movements. The fisrt 25 weeks of gestation. Spinger. 2010. 135p.

OBJECTIVE
:
To assess the frequency of fetal facial expressions at 20-24weeks of gestation using four-dimensional (4D) ultrasonography and to determine whether there was any correlation between facial expression and gestational age (20-34weeks).
 
METHODS:
The facial expressions of 23 healthy fetuses were examined using 4D ultrasound at 20-24weeks. Each fetus was recorded continuously for 15minutes. The frequencies of mouthing, yawning, smiling, tongue expulsion, scowling, sucking, and blinking were assessed and the data combined with those expressions observed at 25-34weeks of gestation in two previous studies (n=34) to determine the correlation between gestational age and each of the facial expressions.
 
RESULTS:
Mouthing was significantly more frequent than the other six facial expressions at 20-24weeks (P<0.05). Yawning was significantly more frequent than smiling, scowling, and blinking (P<0.05), and sucking was significantly more frequent than smiling, scowling, and blinking (P<0.05). The frequency of yawning, smiling, tongue expulsion, scowling, and blinking increased with gestational age (P<0.05). Mouthing movement and sucking frequencies remained constant between 20 and 34weeks.
 
CONCLUSION:
Frequencies of complicated facial expressions such as smiling and scowling may increase with advancing gestation owing to the development of the fetal brain and central nervous system.
 
Kanenishi K, Hanaoka U, Noguchi J, Marumo G, Hata T. 4D ultrasound evaluation of fetal facial expressions during the latter stages of the second trimester. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2013;12(3):257-260

1. Introduction
 
Fetal facial expressions are thought to be indicative of normal fetal neurologic development. In a previous study in which 4D ultrasound was used to assess fetal facial expressions, it was shown that fetuses display a broad spectrum of facial expressions&emdash;as seen during emotional expression by adults; thus, it might be possible to use 4D ultrasound to assess fetal condition. Assessing facial activity using conventional 2D ultrasound is hard because of the complexity of facial anatomy and the limited utility of conventional 2D ultrasound. In a previous investigation, fetal facial expressions were examined at 28&endash;34 weeks of gestation using 4D ultrasound. Mouthing was significantly more common than all of the other facial expressions, and scowling and sucking were the rarest expressions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequencies of fetal facial expressions at 25&endash;27 weeks of gestation using 4D ultrasound in order to assess fetal neurologic developmental levels during gestation.
 
4. Discussion
 
Several studies have involved 4D ultrasound examinations of fetal facial expressions late in the second trimester and early in the third trimester. Kurjak et al. detected variations in facial expression frequency in the second and third trimesters. The frequencies of all of the examined facial expressions peaked during the latter stages of the second trimester, except for that of isolated eye blinking, which increased at the start of week 24. During the early stages of the third trimester, decreased or unchanged fetal facial expression frequencies were observed. In the study by Yigiter and Kavak, the frequencies of yawning, sucking, swallowing, smiling, mouthing, and tongue expulsion were highest at 24&endash;32 weeks, whereas grimacing peaked at 28&endash;36 weeks and eye blinking peaked after week 32. Kurjak et al. also reported that concurrent eyelid and mouthing movements were the predominant expressions at 30&endash;33 weeks.
 
In the present and previous investigations, the most frequent facial expression was mouthing at 25&endash;27 and 28&endash;34 weeks of gestation; the frequency was significantly higher than that of the other facial expressions. The frequency of yawning was significantly higher than that of the other facial expressions, except for mouthing, at 25&endash;27 weeks. Moreover, the frequencies of yawning, smiling, tongue expulsion, sucking, and blinking at 28&endash;34 weeks were significantly higher than those observed at 25&endash;27 weeks. The reasons for the discrepancies between these findings and those of other groups regarding the incidences of fetal expressions during the latter stages of the second trimester and the early stages of the third trimester are unknown. However, 4D ultrasound assessments of fetal facial expressions rely on the subjective judgment of the examiner, so inter-observer variabilitymight be an issue with 4D ultrasound assessments of fetal facial expressions. Further studies are needed to determine appropriate levels of inter-observer agreement for such investigations. Moreover, an objective method of analyzing facial expressions using automated objective recognition systems should be developed. The frame rate of the machine employed in the present study might also have affected the results. In previous studies, the frame rate was 0.5 frames per second, except for 1 study in which it was 4&endash;6 frames per second; by contrast, the maximum frame rate in the present study was 40 frames per second. Other possible reasons for the discrepancies are the small study populations examined in the present study and those of previous researchers, and variations in examination time among the studies. Examinations in the present study lasted 15 minutes, as was the case in other studies, whereas they took 30 minutes in 2 other investigations. The problems associated with a short examination period have been described by Kurjak et al. More studies involving larger study populations and an extended observation period are required to assess precisely the frequencies of fetal facial expressions during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
 
As stated by Kurjak et al., the ability to evaluate fetal behavior might increase knowledge regarding fetal central nervous system development. In addition, it might be possible in future to use the functional characteristics of a fetus, as determined by 4D ultrasound, to predict potential developmental problems. 4D ultrasound examinations of fetal facial expressions might provide useful information for diagnosing and understanding fetal brain disorders in utero, and they could even result in the elucidation of novel fetal behavioral functions. Kurjak et al. developed a points-based system (the Kurjak Antenatal Neurological Test) for evaluating the neurologic status of fetuses via 4D ultrasound, and several studies have assessed the utility of 4D ultrasound for distinguishing between normal and borderline or abnormal fetal behavior during both normal and high-risk pregnancies. The present study offers new insights into the neurologic development of the fetus and might help to determine whether frequencies of fetal facial expressions at a specific gestational age are indicative of specific neurologic disorders. Further studies are necessary to clarify the potential of 4D ultrasound for evaluating fetal neurobehavior.