Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University Princeton, NJ, USA.
Front Neurosci. 2013 Jan 2;6:188. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00188. eCollection 2012.
Over the past 5 years numerous reports have confirmed and replicated the specific brain cooling and thermal window predictions derived from the thermoregulatory theory of yawning, and no study has found evidence contrary to these findings. Here we review the comparative research supporting this model of yawning among homeotherms, while highlighting a recent report showing how the expression of contagious yawning in humans is altered by seasonal climate variation. The fact that yawning is constrained to a thermal window of ambient temperature provides unique and compelling support in favor of this theory. Heretofore, no existing alternative hypothesis of yawning can explain these results, which have important implications for understanding the potential functional role of this behavior, both physiologically and socially, in humans and other animals. In discussion we stress the broader applications of this work in clinical settings, and counter the various criticisms of this theory.
在过去的 5 年中，大量的报告证实并复制了哈欠的体温调节理论所预测的特定的大脑冷却和热窗，没有一项研究发现与这些发现相悖的证据。在这里，我们回顾了支持这个恒温动物打哈欠模型的比较研究，同时强调了最近的一项报告，该报告展示了人类传染性打哈欠的表达如何受到季节性气候变化的影响。事实上，打哈欠被限制在环境温度的热窗内，这为该理论提供了独特而有力的支持。迄今为止，没有任何现有的哈欠替代假说可以解释这些结果，这对于理解这种行为在人类和其他动物中的生理和社会功能潜在作用具有重要意义。在讨论中，我们强调了这项工作在临床环境中的更广泛应用，并反驳了对该理论的各种批评。
