Highlights•Yawning is a highly conserved neurophysiological adaptation among
vertebrates.•The detection of yawning appears to be biologically important in social …

Various studies and researchers have proposed a link between contagious yawning and
empathy, yet the conceptual basis for the proposed connection is not clear and deserves …

Highlights•Lions yawn when they are relaxed and engage in social affiliation.•The arousal
state seems to inhibit yawning in wild lions.•Wild lions are infected by others' yawns.•Yawn …

While the origin of yawning appears to be physiologic, yawns may also hold a derived
communicative function in social species. In particular, the arousal reduction hypothesis …

Contagious yawning occurs in humans and a few other highly social animals following the
detection of yawns in others, yet the factors influencing the propagation of this response …

Witnessing of conspecifics in pain has been shown to elicit socially triggered freezing in
rodents. It is unknown how robust this response is to repeated exposure to a cage-mate …

While comparative research on contagious yawning has grown substantially in the past few
years, both the interpersonal factors influencing this response and the sensory modalities …

Research indicates that the motor action pattern of yawning functions to promote cortical
arousal and state change through enhanced intracranial circulation and brain cooling …

Spontaneous yawning is a widespread behaviour in vertebrates. However, data on marine
mammals are scarce. In this study, we tested some hypotheses on the functions of yawning …

Yawning serves as a cue that an individual is experiencing a reduction of arousal and
vigilance. As a result, the group vigilance hypothesis predicts that the detection of yawning …