In this article, it is considered that the mechanism of yawning function is cor-relative to sleep. It was revealed from the electrophysiological studies that the slow wave sleep (SWS) was characterized as decrease in excitation from inspir-atory motoneurons more than from expiration, manifesting the expiratory activity dominating in SWS. To analogize yawning to SWS, herein it is only considered the expiration during yawning, pressing the sensory posterior palate and maxillary sinuses with air flow, so that yawns similarly regulate the vascular circulations from mouth to eye as SWS, as evidenced by the closure of eyelid in sleep and the association of ophthalmic diseases with obstructive sleep apnea. Besides, it is pointed out that the yawning expiration of high muscular tone elicits the muscular constriction at the back of neck, potentiating the expiratory press in mouth stronger than that of SWS. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that the yawning resembles the SWS to play the neurovascular regulation in head driven by expiration. It is speculated that the initiative mouth opening in yawns may have functions other than that considered here. It is expected that this new and neglected function of yawning with expiratory neurovascular regulation in head may add more to understand the complex functions of yawns.
Cite this paper
Cai, Z. (2018). One Neglected Yawning Function like Slow Wave Sleep: The Hypothetic Neurovascular Regulation from Mouth to Eye Driven by Expiration. Open Access Library Journal, 5, e4649. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104649.
Provine, R.R., Tate, B.C. and Geldmacher, L.L. (1987) Yawning: No Effect of 3—5% CO2, 100% O2, and Exercise. Behavioral and Neural Biology, 48, 382-393.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-1047(87)90944-7
Guggisberg, A.G., Mathis, J. and Hess, C.W. (2010) Interplay between Yawning and Vigilance: A Review of the Experimental Evidence. Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience, 28, 47-54.
https://doi.org/10.1159/000307079
Guggisberg, A.G., Mathis, J., Herrmann, U.S. and Hess, C.W. (2007) The Functional Relationship between Yawning and Vigilance. Behavioural Brain Research, 179, 159-166.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2007.01.027
Massen, J.J., Dusch, K., Eldakar, O.T. and Gallup, A.C. (2014) A Thermal Window for Yawning in Humans: Yawning as a Brain Cooling Mechanism. Physiology & Behavior, 130, 145-148.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.03.032
Gallup, A.C. and Hack, G.D. (2011) Human Paranasal Sinuses and Selective Brain Cooling: A Ventilation System Activated by Yawning? Medical Hypotheses, 77, 970-973.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.08.022
Thompson, S.B. (2011) Born to Yawn? Cortisol Linked to Yawning: A New Hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 77, 861-862.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.07.056
Zannella, A., Norscia, I., Stanyon, R. and Palagi, E. (2015) Testing Yawning Hypotheses in Wild Populations of Two Strepsirrhine Species: Propithecus verreauxi and Lemur catta. American Journal of Primatology, 77, 1207-1215.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22459
Romero, T., Ito, M., Saito, A. and Hasegawa, T. (2014) Social Modulation of Contagious Yawning in Wolves. PLoS ONE, 9, e105963.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105963
Cai, Z.J. (2016) Progressions of Sleep, Memory and Depression Applicable to Psychoanalysis: A Review. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 12, 240-245.
https://doi.org/10.2174/1573400512666160610083505
Kupfer, D.J. and Reynolds, C.F. (1989) Slow-Wave Sleep as a “Protective” Factor. In: Stunkard, A.J. and Baum, A., Eds., Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine: Eating, Sleeping, and Sex, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., New Jersey, 131-145.
Baldwin, D.S. and Papakostas, G.I. (2006) Symptoms of Fatigue and Sleepiness in Major Depressive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67, 9-15.
Fava, M., Ball, S., Nelson, J.C., Sparks, J., Konechnik, T., Classi, P., Dube, S. and Thase, M.E. (2014) Clinical Relevance of Fatigue as a Residual Symptom in Major Depressive Disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 250-257.
https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22199
Baglioni, C., Spiegelhalder, K., Feige, B., Nissen, C., Berger, M. and Riemann, D. (2014) Sleep, Depression and Insomnia—A Vicious Circle? Current Psychiatry Reviews, 10, 202-213.
https://doi.org/10.2174/1573400510666140620001507
Mendlewicz, J. and Kerkhofs, M. (1991) Sleep Electroencephalography in Depressive Illness. A Collaborative Study by the World Health Organization. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 505-509.
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.159.4.505
Kahn-Greene, E.T., Killgore, D.B., Kamimori, G.H., Balkin, T.J. and Killgore, W.D. (2007) The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Symptoms of Psychopathology in Healthy Adults. Sleep Medicine, 8, 215-221.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2006.08.007
Agnew Jr., H.W., Webb, W.B. and Williams, R.L. (1967) Comparison of Stage Four and 1-REM Sleep Deprivation. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 24, 851-858.
https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1967.24.3.851
Wehr, T.A., Wirz-Justice, A., Goodwin, F.K., Duncan, W. and Gillin, J.C. (1979) Phase Advance of the Circadian Sleep-Wake Cycle as an Antidepressant. Science, 206, 710-713.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.227056
Bunney, B.G. and Bunney, W.E. (2012) Rapid-Acting Antidepressant Strategies: Mechanisms of Action. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 15, 695-713.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145711000927
Kupfer, D.J., Frank, E., McEachran, A.B. and Grochocinski, V.J. (1990) Delta Sleep Ratio. A Biological Correlate of Early Recurrence in Unipolar Affective Disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 1100-1105.
https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1990.01810240020004
Kim, C., Choi, H., Kim, J.K., Kim, M.S., Huh, M.K. and Moon, Y.B. (1971) Sleep Pattern of Hippocampectomized Cat. Brain Research, 29, 223-236.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(71)90030-8
McGinty, D. and Szymusiak, R. (1988) Neuronal Unit Activity Patterns in Behaving Animals: Brainstem and Limbic System. Annual Review of Psychology, 39, 135-168.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.39.020188.001031
Winson, J. and Abzug, C. (1977) Gating of Neuronal Transmission in the Hippocampus: Efficacy of Transmission Varies with Behavioral State. Science, 196, 1223-1225. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.193192
Steriade, M. and Hobson, J. (1976) Neuronal Activity during the Sleep-Waking Cycle. Progress in Neurobiology, 6, 157-376.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-0082(76)90013-7
Inostroza, M. and Born, J. (2013) Sleep for Preserving and Transforming Episodic Memory. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 36, 79-102.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-062012-170429
Hars, B. and Hennevin, E. (1987) Impairment of Learning by Cueing during Postlearning Slow-Wave Sleep in Rats. Neuroscience Letters, 79, 290-294.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(87)90446-0
Rideout, B.E. (1979) Non-REM Sleep as a Source of Learning Deficits Induced by REM Sleep Deprivation. Physiology & Behavior, 22, 1043-1047.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(79)90254-3
Yang, Z., Zhang, W., Wang, M., Ruan, D. and Chen, J. (2012) Effects of Daytime, Night and Sleep Pressure on Long-Term Depression in the Hippocampus in Vivo. Neuroscience Letters, 511, 106-109.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2012.01.050
Yang, Z., Zhang, W., Wang, M., Ruan, D. and Chen, J. (2012) Effect of Low Intensity Low-Frequency Stimuli on Long-Term Depression in the Rat Hippocampus Area CA1 in Vivo. Neuroscience Letters, 523, 24-29.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2012.06.034
Bramham, C.R. and Srebro, B. (1989) Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippo-campus Is Modulated by Behavioral State. Brain Research, 493, 74-86.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(89)91001-9
Silvani, A. and Dampney, R.A. (2013) Central Control of Cardiovascular Function during Sleep. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 305, H1683-H1692.
https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00554.2013
Burgess, H.J., Holmes, A.L. and Dawson, D. (2001) The Relationship be-tween Slow-Wave Activity, Body Temperature, and Cardiac Activity during Nighttime Sleep. Sleep, 24, 343-349.
https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/24.3.343
Trinder, J., Jordan, A.S. and Nicholas, C.L. (2014) Discharge Properties of Upper Airway Motor Units during Wakefulness and Sleep. Progress in Brain Research, 212, 59-75.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-63488-7.00004-5
Bikov, A., Hull, J.H. and Kunos, L. (2016) Exhaled Breath Analysis, a Simple Tool to Study the Pathophysiology of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 27, 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2015.07.005
MacLean, J.E., Fitzsimons, D., Fitzgerald, D. and Mbbs, K.W. (2017) Com-parison of Clinical Symptoms and Severity of Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children with and without Cleft Lip and/or Palate. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 54, 523-529.
https://doi.org/10.1597/15-309
Vale, F., Albergaria, M., Carrilho, E., Francisco, I., Guimaraes, A., Caramelo, F. and Maló, L. (2017) Efficacy of Rapid Maxillary Expansion in the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Journal of Evidence-Based Dental Practice, 17, 159-168.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebdp.2017.02.001
Filtness, A.J., Anund, A., Fors, C., Ahlstrom, C., Akerstedt, T. and Kecklund, G. (2014) Sleep-Related Eye Symptoms and Their Potential for Identifying Driver Sleepiness. Journal of Sleep Research, 23, 568-575.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12163
Alvaro, P.K., Jackson, M.L., Berlowitz, D.J., Swann, P. and Howard, M.E. (2016) Prolonged Eyelid Closure Episodes during Sleep Deprivation in Professional Drivers. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12, 1099-1103.
https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6044
Huon, L.K., Liu, S.Y., Camacho, M. and Guilleminault, C. (2016) The Association Between Ophthalmologic Diseases and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sleep and Breathing, 20, 1145-1154.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-016-1358-4
Skorin Jr., L. and Knutson, R. (2016) Ophthalmic Diseases in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 116, 522-529.
https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2016.105
Choy, C.K., Benzie, I.F. and Cho, P. (2004) Is Ascorbate in Human Tears from Corneal Leakage or from Lacrimal Secretion? Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 87, 24-27.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1444-0938.2004.tb03142.x