Contents
A quick tour
History of knowledge on yawning
Popular knowledge and beliefs
Yawning circumstances
Phylogenesis
Neurophysiology
Echokinetic yawning
Pathology
Parakinesia brachialis oscitans
Fetal yawning
Clinical cases
Bibliography
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The author: Dr Walusinski.
 
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Yawning and literaure
Yawning by painters
 
 
 Moebius syndrome and yawning
Content and Contagion in Yawning Sarnecki
Mise à jour le
24 mai 2009
 
Yawning : clinical cases
O. Walusinski
 
How is a yawn triggered?
Neurophysiology of yawning
The curious phenomenon of contagious yawning
Echokinetic yawning, theory of mind, and empathy
Video of a typical Yawn
Flavio Aloe Yawning
Daquin G, J Micallef, O Blin Yawning
Smith EO Yawning: an evolutionary perspective
Why do people yawn ? 
Neural basis of drug induced yawning Cooper SJ, Dourish CT
Chat-logomini
cas 45 :"On Call: I'm a 62-year-old man in good health. I take Zocor for my cholesterol as well as a baby aspirin and several vitamins every day. My problem may seem silly, but it's really a nuisance: uncontrollable yawning. Do you have any idea why I yawn so much or what I can do about it?" Harv Mens Health Watch (2002). 6(9): 8.
 
cas 46 : Excessive yawning and sleepy attacks
 
cas 47 : A 46 year old man with obsessivecompulsive disorder was referred by his psychiatrist because of frequent yawning spells. It soon became apparent that his movements, superficially resembling yawning, were different from his normal yawning. The yawning movements were preceded by a sensation of drowning or suffocation that could only be relieved if the yawning movement was "just right: I need that good breath". The yawning was temporarily suppressible, and did not occur if the patient was distracted. The yawning could be substituted for by a sigh, which also abolished the sensation of asphyxia. Diazepam helped to reduce the movement. There was history of previous tics, and the family history was notable for Parkinson's disease. As a child, the patient had obsessive rituals that did not impair him. (extrait de
Chouinard S, Ford B Adult onset tic disorders J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2000; 68; 738-743)
 
cas 48 : A 23-year-old woman presented with 10 days of progressive numbness of the face and arms, diplopia, oscillopsia, and dysphagia. She reported an inability to sneeze or yawn and meals were followed by 5 minutes of hiccups. She had a history of venous thrombosis and a family history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
 
Cas 50 : CPAP and Yawning
Basic fact, yawning is an indication that you are tired. So, why yawning now? Because of the constant awakenings as a result of sleep apnea, we become tired, then fatigued, then more fatigued, then a zombie ..... It seems somewhere along the line some of us at least go beyond the normal reaction to lack of sleep and fail to exhibit the normal reactions. One of the many things I quit experiencing with sleep apnea was an occasional yawn.
 
When we start NPAP therapy, we first catch up on severly delenquent REM sleep (experiencing what is called REM rebound). We then get back into a normal sleep mode with normal sleep architecture and normal circadian rhythums. If we get more than the normal for adults 8+ hours per day of sleep, we begin to pay back our sleep debts.
 
During this period of time we start to experience minor little changes in our lives. Simple things like not falling asleep behind the wheel. Seeing the end of movies. Making it through the kids (or grand kids) school program. Or yawning. My co-workers thought I was nuts! It's not a disbuted issue, but "yawning"! I began yawing one afternoon at work. Several times. And then I realized, I hadn't yawned in years! In fact I couldn't remember when I had last yawned. A lot of years!!!
And suddenly it dawned on me that the yawning was a very simple, very subtle sign that I was getting better. I ran around telling everyone "Hey!, I'm yawning!!!" Yes, a nut, but I was getting better!!!
 
Now, a note of caution. I went through a period of time when I yawned, but as I continued to pay back my sleep debt, I quit yawning again. After that, if I pushed things, and got tired, I would yawn. If I maintained proper sleep hygiene, I don't yawn.
So, let yawning be a sign. If you are still yawning after a year like "Rested", it may be that you aren't getting enough sleep to pay back your sleep debt. Or perhaps that there is another problem. If you occasionally yawn, get some extra sleep for a night or two. Be aware of your body, and your sleep it is important.
 
Cas 57 : Myocardial ischemia as a result of severe benzodiazepine and opioid withdrawal
 
Cas 59: Sometimes when I yawn or stretch my arms out, my neck seizes up (shooting pain to my head) and my eyes feel like they are rolling around. This lasts for around five to seven seconds. When I rub the side of my neck, it all goes back to normal. My doctor tells me to avoid yawning or stretching but sometimes I do it without thinking. At times I think I might faint. (Male, 75).
Response : you suffer probably from cervical osteoarthritis. The neck lordosis during stretching (neck pain) may compress the vertebral arteries and thus cause a brainstem's ischemia (Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency.) during which the functionnal perturbation of cranial nerve nucleus generate your optokinetic nystagmus.
 
Case 60 yawning attacks