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The secret of the yawn

The document discusses the scientific study of yawning, highlighting its primitive nature and the research conducted by various scientists on its causes and effects. Key findings include the relationship between yawning and empathy, the connection between yawning and stretching, and the phenomenon of contagious yawning among humans and primates. Additionally, it touches on the neurological aspects of yawning in individuals with brain disorders and the potential implications for recovery from brain damage.

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3 views4 pages

The secret of the yawn

The document discusses the scientific study of yawning, highlighting its primitive nature and the research conducted by various scientists on its causes and effects. Key findings include the relationship between yawning and empathy, the connection between yawning and stretching, and the phenomenon of contagious yawning among humans and primates. Additionally, it touches on the neurological aspects of yawning in individuals with brain disorders and the potential implications for recovery from brain damage.

Uploaded by

linghanlhlh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3.

The secret of the yawn


A When a scientist began to study yawning in the 1980s, it was difficult to convince
some of his research students of the merits of “yawning science.” Although it may appear
quirky, his decision to study yawning was a logical extension to human beings of my
research in developmental neuroscience, reported in such papers as “Wing-flapping during
Development and Evolution.” As a neurobehavioral problem, there is not much difference
between the wing-flapping of birds and the face – and body-flapping of human yawners.

B Yawning is an ancient, primitive act. Humans do it even before they are born,
opening wide in the womb. Some snakes unhinge their jaws to do it. One species of
penguins yawns as part of mating. Only now are researchers beginning to understand why
we yawn, when we yawn and why we yawn back. A professor of cognitive neuroscience at
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Steven Platek, studies the act of contagious yawning,
something done only by people and other primates.

C In his first experiment, he used a psychological test to rank people on their empathic
feelings. He found that participants who did not score high on compassion did not yawn
back. “We literally had people saying, ‘Why am I looking at people yawning?’” Professor
Platek said. “It just had no effect.”

D For his second experiment, he put 10 students in a magnetic resonance imaging


machine as they watched video tapes of people yawning. When the students watched the
videos, the part of the brain which reacted was the part scientists believe controls empathy
– the posterior cingulate, in the brain’s middle rear.” I don’t know if it’s necessarily that nice
people yawn more, but I think it’s a good indicator of a state of mind,” said Professor Platek.
“It’s also a good indicator if you’re empathizing with me and paying attention.”

E His third experiment is studying yawning in those with brain disorders, such as
autism and schizophrenia, in which victims have difficulty connecting emotionally with
others. A psychology professor at the University of Maryland, Robert Provine, is one of the
few other researchers into yawning. He found the basic yawn lasts about six seconds and
they come in bouts with an interval of about 68 seconds. Men and women yawn or half-
yawn equally often, but men are significantly less likely to cover their mouths which may
indicate complex distinction in genders.” A watched yawner never yawns,” Professor
Provine said. However, the physical root of yawning remains a mystery. Some researchers
say it’s coordinated within the hypothalamus of the brain, the area that also controls
breathing.

F Yawning and stretching also share properties and may be performed together as
parts of a global motor complex. But they do not always co-occur – people usually yawn
when we stretch, but we don’t always stretch when we yawn, especially before bedtime.
Studies by J.I.P, G.H.A. Visser and H.F. Prechtl in the early 1980s, charting movement in
the developing fetus using ultrasound, observed not just yawning but a link between
yawning and stretching as early as the end of the first prenatal trimester.

G The most extraordinary demonstration of the yawn-stretch linkage occurs in many


people paralyzed on one side of their body because of brain damage caused by a stroke.
The prominent British neurologist Sir Francis Walshe noted in 1923 what when these
hemiplegics yawn, they are startled and mystified to observe that their otherwise paralyzed
arm rises and flexes automatically in what neurologists term an “associated response.”
Yawning apparently activates undamaged, unconsciously controlled connections between
the brain and the cord motor system innervating the paralyzed limb. It is not known whether
the associated response is a positive prognosis for recovery, nor whether yawning is
therapeutic for reinnervation or prevention of muscular atrophy.

H Clinical neurology offers other surprises. Some patients with “locked-in” syndrome,
who are almost totally deprived of the ability to move voluntarily, can yawn normally. The
neural circuits for spontaneous yawning must exist in the brain stem near other respiratory
and vasomotor centers, because yawning is performed by anencephalic who possess only
the medulla oblongata. The multiplicity of stimuli of contagious yawning, by contrast,
implicates many higher brain regions.
Questions 28-32
Complete the summary below.
In boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet, write the correct answer with NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS.

A psychology professor drew a conclusion after the observation that it takes


about six seconds to complete average yawning which needs 28 .......................
before the following yawning comes. It is almost at the same frequency that
male and female yawn or half, yet behavior accompanied with yawning showing
a 29 ....................... in genders. Some parts within the brain may affect the
movement which also has something to do with 30 ....................... . Another
finding also finds there is a link between a yawn and 31 ....................... before a
baby was born, which two can be automatically co-operating even among
people whose 32 ....................... is damaged.

Questions 33-37
Read paragraphs A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H for questions 33-37.
You may use any letter more than once.

33 The rate for yawning shows some regular pattern.


34 Yawning is an inherent ability that appears in both animals and humans.
35 Stretching and yawning are not always going together.
36 Yawning may suggest people are having positive notice or response in
communicating.
37 Some superior areas in the brain may deal with the infectious feature of
yawning.
Questions 38-40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information


FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

38 Several students in Platek’s experiment did not comprehend why their tutor ask them
to yawn back.
39 Some results from certain experiments indicate the link between yawning and
compassion.
40 Yawning can show an affirmative impact on the recovery from brain damage brought
by a stroke.

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