Based on the information in the article, yawns are contagious likely because of social mirroring and the activation of mirror neurons in the brain. The article states that "the likelihood of yawning increases sixfold after seeing someone else yawn," indicating a strong link between observing the behavior and mimicking it. Additionally, Giordano mentions that mirror neurons help individuals match what they sense and feel to their own actions, suggesting that witnessing someone yawn triggers a similar response in the observer. This reasoning is logical because it presents a biological basis for the phenomenon, supported by the idea that empathy and social bonding may enhance the tendency to imitate others, which is further echoed by Scammell's mention of social communication through mirroring behaviors.
excess carbon dioxide and other chemical changes, such as a drop in oxygen or increase in a compound called adenosine, could also act as yawn gates, said James Glordano, a neuroethicist and neuroscientist at Georgetown University. These chemicals send out a signal that triggers a yawn. By yawning, we compress the muscles of the face, driving oxygen-enriched blood to the brain, Giordano said.
Other proposals state the purpose of yawning is to cool the brain, or to stretch interal organs like tissues and lunas, helpina the body to liven up page 2 of 2That puts a little bit of support back in the theory that what yawning is really doing is changing the brain chemistry." Giordano said, adding that scientists are still trying to investigate the reasons why.
What is known is that the behavior is contagious. The likelihood of yawning increases sixfold, according to one study, after seeing someone else yawn.
As for yawn contagion, Giordano said it may be related to a phenomenon called social mirroring, where organisms imitate the actions of others. Other behavion fall
into this cateaor such as scratching tea crossing and lauchPage 2 of 2Giordano said this behavior could be linked to mirror neurons in the brain.
"What these neurons are involved in is matching what we sense and feel to the way we move," Giordano said. "So if someone is seeing me scratch my face, they would know what it feels like. You may be compelled to do it too."
Zhou-Feng Chen, director at Washington University's Center for the Study of Itch has conducted research on social scratching in mice. When he showed a video of one mouse scratching itself to other mice, the mice began their own scratching within five seconds. And they were five times as likely to imitate the scratching relative to control animals
Chen said that when animals mimic others, they must be recognizing a useful behavior. Without thinking, they decide, "This behavior must be very useful. So, I better do it.*Chen said this behavior could save energy and protect animals against disease. For example, since wild animals don't live in sanitized environments and are often exposed to biting and stinging insects that could carry disease, this mimicking could be helping them to ward off infection
Bocial bonds, 10o, may be reinforced by yawning and other forms of imitative behavior may, Scammell said
it someone Rashes you a nice fendly smile, without even thinking about it, you're ikely to smile back, he said. "It is a form of social communication, and it appears that people who are more empathetic are more ikely to have this social ilerroringUse this excerpt from the "Why are yawns contagious? We asked a scientist" article to answer the question.
Based on the information in the article, make a logical inference about why yawns are contagious. In 3-5 sentences, provide specific evidence from the text to support your inference and explain why your reasoning is logical and valid.
1 answer