Post-lesion yawning and thalamotomy site.
Yawning during hyperventilation occurred in certain patients post-thalamotomy. It was found that all of the lesions which elicited yawning (during the routine recording of electroencephalograms) were localized to the medial portion of the center-median nucleus. Yawning was noted to persist up to 3(1/2) years post surgery. Another group of patients who yawned when hyperventilated were patients with a history of a recent head injury who showed post-traumatic behavioral changes. Patients in both groups were young. There was no direct relationship between yawning and EEG abnormality. It was suggested that yawning during hyperventilation may serve as a sign of brain damage, especially at the brain stem level, in young patients.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D006985:Hyperventilation; D012018:Reflex; D012119:Respiration; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000601:surgery*