Those who stay together yawn together
December 7, 2011 in Psychology & PsychiatryYou're more likely to respond to a yawn with another yawn when it comes from family member or a friend than from a stranger, says a study published Dec. 7 in the online journal PLoS ONE.
The phenomenon of "yawn contagion" is widely known but little understood, and this new study, led by Ivan Norscia and Elisabetta Palagi of the University of Pisa in Italy, suggests that it occurs at least in part as a form of social empathy. The researchers found that yawn contagion was highest in response to kin, then friends, then acquaintances, and finally strangers - the same pattern as is seen for other measures of empathy as well.
Based on these results, the authors conclude that "for the first time, yawn contagion is affected by the empathic bond that links two people, by considering humans in their natural settings."
More information: Norscia I, Palagi E (2011) Yawn Contagion and Empathy in Homo sapiens. PLoS ONE 6(12): e28472. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028472
Provided by
Public Library of Science
-
Children under 4 and children with autism don't yawn contagiously
Sep 15, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Chimpanzees' contagious yawning evidence of empathy, not just sleepiness, study shows
Apr 06, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Huge yawn locks jaw, chokes man
Nov 19, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Yawn alert for weary drivers
Jul 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New study alters long-held beliefs about shingles
Feb 01, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
May 25, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Limits to growth: Scientists identify key metastasis-enabling enzyme
May 22, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
-
Seeing is as seeing does: Spatially-structured retinal input in early development of cortical maps
Apr 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Dreamless nights: Brain activity during nonrapid eye movement sleep
Apr 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
0
-
Take your time: Neurobiology sheds light on the superiority of spaced vs. massed learning
Mar 28, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
-
Potential Breakthrough in Seizure Control
16 hours ago
-
Popping/Cracked sternum.
21 hours ago
-
Which Mental Illness Encompasses This Problem?
21 hours ago
-
A question about drug tolerance
May 23, 2012
-
Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
May 23, 2012
-
Math and dyslexia?
May 21, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
More mental health care urged for kids who self-harm
(HealthDay) -- Doctors have long known that some kids suffering severe emotional turmoil find relief in physical pain -- cutting or burning or sticking themselves with pins to achieve a form of release.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 25, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Questionable research practices surprisingly common
(Medical Xpress) -- Not all scientific misconduct is flat-out fraud. Much falls into the murkier realm of “questionable research practices.” A new study finds that in one field, psychology, these practices are surprisingly ...
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 25, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Feeling strong emotions makes peoples' brains 'tick together'
Experiencing strong emotions synchronises brain activity across individuals, research team at Aalto University and Turku PET Centre in Finland has revealed.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Formal recognition of PMDD will lift stigma for women
A decision to recognise premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a genuine psychiatric condition will finally provide “validation for this awful and poorly understood” syndrome and alleviate the stigma ...
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
2 / 5 (1) |
1
Long-term meditation leads to different brain organization
(Medical Xpress) -- People who practice mindfulness meditation learn to accept their feelings, emotions, and states of mind without judging or resisting them. They simply live in the moment.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (7) |
0
|
Keep food safety in mind this memorial day weekend
(HealthDay) -- Picnics, parades and cookouts are as much a part of Memorial Day weekend as tributes to the United States' war veterans.
Travel to high altitudes tied to Crohn's, colitis flare-ups
(HealthDay) -- People with inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and colitis, may be at increased risk for flare-ups when they fly or travel to high altitudes for skiing or mountain climbing, ...
Family history of Alzheimer's affects functional connectivity
(HealthDay) -- Cognitively normal individuals with a family history of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) may display lower resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of the brain, ...
Transvaginal mesh op restores pelvic organ prolapse at price
(HealthDay) -- Transvaginal mesh (TVM) procedures are effective for anatomical restoration of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), but patients report a worsening of sexual function following surgery, according to ...
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...
Weight struggles? Blame new neurons in your hypothalamus
New nerve cells formed in a select part of the brain could hold considerable sway over how much you eat and consequently weigh, new animal research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests in a study published in the May issue ...
