Absence of Contagious
Yawning in ASD
Laura Pynn
18/03/08
Research Question
 Is the capacity for empathy related to deficits
in contagious yawning?
 Deficits in capacity for empathy known to exist in
children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
 Contagious yawning known to activate the
superior temporal sulcus and periamygdalar
region
 Structural abnormalities have been reported in
these areas in individuals with ASD
Participants
ASD children
 N = 24
 20 males, 4 females
 Mean=11.6 yrs
 7.0-15.9
 IQ = 82.1
 46-127
TD children
 N = 25
 14 males, 11 females
 Mean = 11.0
 8.0-14.9
 IQ = 106.9
 85-142
Procedure
Yawn Condition
 6 video clips - yawning
faces, 7s each
 1 minute inter-stimulus
interval
 Silent cartoon animation
 Participants asked to
count # of female faces
to ensure they attended
to the display
Control Condition
 6 video clips - open
mouth faces, 7s each
 1 minute inter-stimulus
interval
 Silent cartoon animation
 Participants asked to
count # of female faces
to ensure they attended
to the display
Results
 Between Groups
 Yawn videos elicited more
yawns from the TD group
than the ASD group
 No difference between
yawning rates for control
videos; therefore rates of
spontaneous yawning do
not differ between groups
 Within Groups
 No difference between yawn
and control condition in ASD
children
 Significant differences
between the yawn and
control conditions for TD
children
Further Analysis
 Analysis of male participants only:
 Results remained significant
 IQ matched subgroups:
 16 TD children, 16 ASD children
 TD children still showed more yawning
than ASD children in the yawn condition
Discussion
 Demonstrates neuropathology can
specifically impair contagious yawning
without effecting spontaneous yawning
 “…current results support the claim that
contagious yawning and the capacity for
empathy share common neural and
cognitive mechanisms.”
Discussion
 Why?
 Possible dysfunction of the mirror neuron system
(MNS)
 However, previous fMRI studies found no selective
activation of Broca’s area during contagious yawning
http://www.baillement.com/f.mri-article.html
 Atypical patterns of face fixation - perception of
the eye regions is most important for eliciting
yawns
 Future studies with eye tracking?