Why we yawn could hold key to dementia cure
YAWNING could provide a vital clue in the search for a cure for dementia and other neurological disorders, a study has claimed.
The urge to yawn triggered when someone near us yawns is a type of reflex seen in a range of conditions including epilepsy and dementia, say researchers.
Scientists believe that studying contagious yawning could hold the key to a future cure for dementia.
Our tendency to “catch” a yawn is controlled by an area of the brain called the motor cortex, responsible for “echophenomena” – the automatic imitation of someone else’s actions.
Researchers at Nottingham University studied the process and found they were able to control the reflex.
Adults who viewed video clips showing someone else yawning were told to either resist yawning or to allow themselves to yawn. They were filmed throughout and both their yawns and stifled yawns were counted.
The scientists were able to increase the participants’ urge to yawn via the motor cortex using a process called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
They showed that each individual’s propensity for contagious yawning can be affected by either stimulating or inhibiting the brain tissue.
Researcher Professor Stephen Jackson said the technique could potentially reverse neurological disorders without the use of medications.
He said: “If we can understand how alterations in cortical excitability give rise to neural disorders we can potentially reverse them.
“We are looking for potential non-drug, personalised treatments, using TMS, that might be effective in modulating imbalances in the brain networks.”
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.