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Potentiation of penile erection and yawning responses to apomorphine by cannabinoid receptor antagonist in rats.

The effect of systemic administration of the cannabinoid antagonist SR 141716A (N-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxyamide) on penile erection and yawning induced by apomorphine was investigated in rats. SR 141716A (2 mg/kg, i.p.) administered 40 min before apomorphine (40 and 80 microg/kg, s.c.) increased the number of penile erection and yawning responses. The administration of cannabinoid agonist Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (1.25 mg/kg, i.p.) 15 min before apomorphine (40 and 80 microg/kg, s.c.) did not affect penile erection, however it decreased yawning. The present results provide additional evidence that cannabinoid agonists interfere with dopaminergic systems and that SR 141716A together with a dopaminergic agonist could be useful to potentiate dopaminergic activity.

Animals↗

Fetal yawning.

Incidental fetal yawning movements can rarely be observed during real-time ultrasonographic examination. In this report we document repetitive fetal yawning movements in a 27-week fetus over a 7-min period. Each episode lasted for 4-6 s, and the intervals between them varied from 21 to 195 s. This case demonstrated that fetal yawning, a complex involuntary behavioral reflex, is present in its full extent during the second half of pregnancy.

Adult↗

Yawning?

Since antiquity yawning has attracted a moderate interest among philosophers, psychologists, physiologists, as well as educators, moralists and physicians. Organisms from birds to men and from the womb to the deathbed were found to be displaying it. While sometimes satisfying to the producer, its display is offensive to the lay observer. Hippocrates had it on his lists of useful 'natures.' Aristotle dropped a few words on the matter. Boerhaave elevated its function to the intellect of animals. Haller has commented on its relation to the acoustic system, blood-flow, and baby sleep. Darwin mentioned it in connection with emotional behavior. Some modern authors praised its beneficial effects on respiration and smell. In the 1960s, Ashley Montagu tried to correct the contemporary failure to explain the behavior by the fact of raised CO2 and arterial compression. It also interested some neurologists, especially in its association with the encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s, with 'spasmodic yawning,' with epilepsy, not to speak of hysteria. As to boredom or its stimulus, a 40-page dissertation survives from the court of Frederick the Great of the 18th century condemning idleness, a subject that also inspired Blaise Pascal and William James. But in the Hindu world, public yawning was a religious offense.

Animals↗

Radiopaque contrast dye in nasopharynx reaches the middle ear during swallowing and/or yawning.

CONCLUSION: Contrast dye in the nasopharynx reaches the middle ear during swallowing and yawning in normal adults. This suggests that displacement of bacteria in nasopharyngeal secretion to the middle ear may occur frequently during sleep. OBJECTIVE: The middle ear is sterile under normal conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine by means of CT whether radiopaque contrast dye in the nasopharynx would reflux into the middle ear of normal adults during swallowing and/or yawning. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six normal adult volunteers were studied. Contrast dye was kept at the orifices of the Eustachian tube during swallowing and/or yawning by placing volunteers in either a head-down or lateral decubitus position. Reflux was determined by the presence of contrast dye in the middle ear on CT scanning of the temporal bone. RESULTS: Two of the three volunteers in each group (four out of six in total) had contrast material detected in one or both middle ear cavities.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Apomorphine-induced yawning in migraine patients: enhanced responsiveness.

Migraine patients usually exhibit hypersensitivity to dopaminergic agonists, but the tests used (such as the so called "piribedil test") preferentially assess the sensitivity of the peripheral dopaminergic receptors. Apomorphine-induced yawning may be useful in the evaluation of central dopaminergic receptor sensitivity. Nine migraine patients were included in an age- and sex-matched control study. They had been without treatment for 1 month and free of a migraine attack for at least 7 days. Apomorphine hydrochloride (5 micrograms/kg) was administered subcutaneously, and yawning was recorded by two observers. The cumulative number of yawns as a function of time was studied. The comparison of the regression graphs showed a significant difference between migraine patients and controls. Migraine patients exhibited enhanced responsiveness to apomorphine challenge. This finding supports the hypothesis of a constant central dopaminergic hypersensitivity.

Adult↗

Video assessment of yawning induced by sublingual apomorphine in migraine.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out in 14 migraineous outpatients and 8 control subjects to assess yawning response to 0.25 mg of sublingual apomorphine, a dopamine receptor agonist, by means of an audiovisual technique. Apomorphine induced a significantly higher number of yawns than placebo in both groups of subjects, but the effect was significantly greater in migraine sufferers than in controls. The result seems to confirm the previous reported hyper-responsiveness to pharmacological dopaminergic stimulation in migraine sufferers. Moreover, the audiovisual technique seems to be an appropriate tool to study yawning response in man.

Administration, Sublingual↗

Yawning and stretching--a behavioral syndrome associated with transcranial application of electromagnetic fields in multiple sclerosis.

Intracerebral administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) elicits in experimental animals a yawning stretching behavior which is believed to reflect an arousal response mediated through the septohippocampal cholinergic neurons. A surge in plasma ACTH levels at night and just prior to awakening from sleep is also associated in humans with yawning and stretching behavior. Recurrent episodes of uncontrollable yawning and body stretching, identical to those observed upon awakening from physiological sleep, occur in a subset of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) during transcranial therapeutic application of AC pulsed electromagnetic fields of picotesla flux density. This behavioral response has been observed exclusively in young female patients who are fully ambulatory with a relapsing remitting course of the disease who also demonstrate a distinctly favorable therapeutic response to magnetic stimulation. ACTH is employed for the treatment of MS due to its immunomodulatory effects and a surge in its release in response to AC pulsed magnetic stimulation could explain some of the mechanism by which these fields improve symptoms of the disease.

Brain↗

Post-ictal forceful yawning in a patient with nondominant hemisphere epilepsy.

Yawning has been rarely described in association with seizures and not previously documented by video-EEG. We present a 48-year-old woman with a long history of non-dominant for speech hemisphere seizures and post-ictal yawning. Yawning was irresistible, forceful and often repetitive. We reviewed the few similar epileptic cases described in the literature and discussed the possible mechanisms. [Published with video sequences].

Electroencephalography↗

[Yawning and sexual excitation under clomipramine. Role of serotoninergic mechanisms. Apropos of 2 cases].

We report two cases of a singular side effect induced by clomipramine, one in a man, the other in a woman (both patients were beninese). This consisted of the occurring of the association of very frequent yawning and sexual excitation (sexual excitation with vaginal lubrification for the woman and hypogastric feeling of sexual pleasure for the man). It appeared after a few days of ambulatory treatment of a depression with clomipramine 75 mg/day. Clomipramine and demethylclomipramine blood levels were respectively 85 and 95 ng/ml and 70 and 80 ng/ml for the two patients. Three similar cases had been reported in the literature with this same tricyclic antidepressant. Recently a first case has been reported with fluoxetin. On this basis, it could be suggested that serotoninergic mechanisms are involved in the development of such clinical manifestations. But it seems reasonable to consider that serotoninergic mechanism could interact with a dopaminergic one. In favour of this hypothesis is the implication of dopaminergic mechanisms in yawning in man or in the association yawning--penile erections in the rat. Some others clinical arguments are discussed.

Adult↗

Modifications on dopaminergic and cholinergic systems induced by the water tank technique: analysis through yawning behavior.

Animals deprived of REM sleep by the water tank technique show an important decrease in frequency of yawning, induced by dopaminergic (apomorphine in low doses) and cholinergic (physostigmine and pilocarpine) agonists, if they are tested immediately after the 96 hr of deprivation. In order to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of REM sleep deprivation on dopaminergic and cholinergic systems, we decided to test the animals after a recovery period of 24 hr. It was observed that apomorphine-induced yawning was still significantly reduced, whereas pilocarpine-induced yawning had returned to normal. The findings suggest that REM sleep deprivation alters dopaminergic and cholinergic systems in different ways: it seems that the interference on the dopaminergic system is prior and stronger than on the cholinergic system, thus its recovery demands more time.

Animals↗

Rehabilitation of olfaction after laryngectomy by means of a nasal airflow-inducing maneuver: the "polite yawning" technique.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a nasal airflow-inducing maneuver and apply it in the olfactory rehabilitation of patients who have undergone laryngectomy. DESIGN: Intervention study; before-and-after trial. SETTING: National cancer center. PATIENTS: Forty-four patients who underwent laryngectomy; 34 men and 10 women; mean age, 64 years (range, 42-80 years); mean time since surgery, 6 years (range, 8 months to 18 years). INTERVENTION: In a prospective clinical intervention study, we assessed the effectiveness of a nasal airflow-inducing maneuver ("polite yawning," ie, yawning with closed lips). Speech therapists trained the patients in the maneuver, and its effectiveness in inducing nasal airflow was checked with digital and water manometers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Olfactory acuity was assessed before and after the intervention by means of an odor detection test and a structured questionnaire concerning olfaction, taste, and appetite. Patients were categorized as "smellers" and "nonsmellers" on the basis of the results of the odor detection test and the present odor perception scale derived from the questionnaire. RESULTS: The nasal airflow-inducing maneuver could be taught to all patients, mostly in only one 30-minute therapy session. Fifteen of the 33 patients in the pretreatment nonsmeller category converted to smellers, for a success rate of 46% (P<.001). CONCLUSION: The nasal airflow-inducing maneuver (the "polite yawning" technique) allowed almost half of the patients to recover their sense of smell.

Adult↗

Serotonergic modulation of yawning.

Yawning induced by intraperitoneal (IP) injection of physostigmine (0.15 mgKg-1), in infant or adult rats is potentiated by Lu 10-171 (0.5-10 mgKg-1), a selective serotonin uptake inhibiting drug, which, by itself does not induce yawning. This effect is counteracted by metergoline (5-10 mgKg-1, IP) which blocks serotonin postsynaptic receptors. It is suggested that serotonin may exert a positivie modulating effect on yawning.

Animals↗

Sustained yawning as a side of imipramine.

The occurrence of sustained yawning, uncoupled from sedation but caused by psychotropic medication, has been noted infrequently in the literature. This case report suggests the possibility of an association between imipramine and sustained yawning. Mechanisms of action for this yawning are proposed and a treatment strategy is offered.

Adult↗

Circadian variation of yawning behavior.

Circadian variation of spontaneous yawning is demonstrated in a line of Sprague-Dawley rats, genetically selected for high frequency of this motor pattern. Yawning is highest in late light and early dark hours, both under natural and artificial illumination. The hypothetical neurotransmitters underlying this physiological rhythm in yawning are discussed.

Animals↗

Enhanced binding of dopamine D1 receptors in caudate-putamen subregions in High-Yawning Sprague-Dawley rats.

Previous reports have shown that the inbred High-Yawning (HY) and Low-Yawning (LY) rats differ in several behavioral characteristics related to mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) function. To determine if differential expression of DA receptors or DA transporter may mediate the behavioral differences in these two sublines of the Sprague-Dawley rat, we performed a quantitative autoradiography study of the DA D1-like, D2-like, and DA-transporter binding in the basal ganglia and nucleus accumbens. The results show that levels of the D1 binding in the caudate-putamen of the HY rat were higher than in the LY animals, whereas no significant differences in the DA D2 receptors and DA transporter were noted in these sublines. These data suggest that the differences in DA receptors in D1 binding in HY rats may in part have contributed to the behavioral differences related to DA functions such as grooming and penile erection. Our findings are consistent with previous reports showing a decrease in the behavioral responses after systemic administration of DA agonist in LY compared to HY rats.

Animals↗

The NK-3 tachykinin agonist senktide elicits yawning and chewing mouth movements following subcutaneous administration in the rat. Evidence for cholinergic mediation.

The selective NK-3 tachykinin receptor agonist senktide elicited yawning, chewing mouth movements and sexual arousal following subcutaneous administration (0.1-1.0 mg/kg) in the rat. These responses were not significantly affected by the dopamine antagonist haloperidol (0.03 mg/kg) or by 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal projection. In contrast, the behaviours were markedly attenuated by the peripheral and central muscarinic antagonist scopolamine (1 mg/kg), but not by the peripheral muscarinic antagonist N-methylscopolamine (1 mg/kg). These findings suggest that stimulation of NK-3 receptors produces yawning, chewing and sexual arousal by directly activating central cholinergic neurons.

Animals↗

A single report of hemiplegic arm stretching related to yawning: further investigation using apomorphine administration.

We observed a stroke patient with an infarct of the internal capsule interrupting the pyramidal tract who stretched his hemiplegic arm during spontaneous and apomorphine-induced yawning. The putative mechanism by which yawning can induce the paradoxical motor response of the plegic arm in the patient might be the functional efficiency of a pathway projecting directly from the stimulated basal ganglia to lower motor systems in the brainstem.

Apomorphine↗

Stimulatory effects of quinelorane on yawning and penile erection in the rat.

Quinelorane, a highly selective D2 dopamine agonist, was assessed for its ability to induce the penile erection/stretch-yawn syndrome. Quinelorane (0.1-100 micrograms/kg s.c.) or saline vehicle was administered to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats just prior to a 30 min. observation period. Significant dose-related increases in erections were observed in the drug treated animals at 3-100 micrograms/kg. Yawning was also increased at 3-100 micrograms/kg, with highest levels occurring at 10 micrograms/kg. Defecation was stimulated between 10 and 100 micrograms/kg. The stimulatory effects of 30 micrograms/kg of quinelorane on erection, yawning and defecation were blocked by haloperidol (0.1-0.3 mg/kg) but not by domperidone (0.1-1.0 mg/kg). No significant effects of quinelorane on seminal emission were observed. These findings indicate that in addition to its stimulatory effects on sexual activity, quinelorane also acts on D2 receptors in the central nervous system to stimulate erection in the penile erection/stretch-yawn model.

Animals↗