Presence of contagious yawning in sheep

Yonezawa, Tomohiro; Sato, Kei; Uchida, M.; Matsuki, Naoaki; Yamazaki, Akira

doi:10.1111/asj.12681

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…2). Moreover, similarly as in other mammalian species 21,34 , pig yawn contagion was most likely in the first minute from the emission of the triggering stimulus (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Yawn contagion in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa)

Norscia

Coco

Robino

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Contrary to spontaneous yawning—an ancient phenomenon common to vertebrates—contagious yawning (elicited by others’ yawns) has been found only in highly social species and may reflect an emotional inter-individual connection. We investigated yawn contagion in the domestic pig, Sus scrofa. Owing to the complex socio-emotional and cognitive abilities of Sus scrofa, we posited that yawn contagion could be present in this species (Prediction 1) and influenced by individual/social factors (Prediction 2). In June-November 2018, on 104 semi-free ranging adolescent/adult pigs, 224 videos were recorded for video analysis on yawning. Kinship information was refined via genetic analyses. Statistical elaboration was conducted via GLMMs and non-parametric/randomization/cross-tabulation tests. We found yawn contagion in Sus scrofa, as it was more likely that pigs yawned when perceiving rather than not perceiving (yawning/control condition) others’ yawns (response peak in the first out of three minutes). Yawn contagion was more likely: (1) in response to males’ yawns; (2) as the age increased; (3) within short distance (1 m); (4) between full siblings, with no significant association between kinship and distance. The influence of kinship suggests that—as also hypothesized for Homo sapiens—yawn contagion might be linked with emotional communication and possibly contagion.

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“…2). Moreover, similarly as in other mammalian species 21,34 , pig yawn contagion was most likely in the first minute from the emission of the triggering stimulus (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Yawn contagion in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa)

Norscia

Coco

Robino

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…We here discuss the consequences of our findings for the different proximate and ultimate hypotheses that currently exist. CY has thus far been observed in highly social species 6,7,15,17,[19][20][21][22] (but see: 1,[24][25][26][27] ). Orangutans have meaningful social interactions that occur more often than is expected by chance alone 76 , but these interactions occur at a much lower frequency compared to bonobos and chimpanzees 66,67 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence for yawn contagion in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Berlo

Díaz-Loyo

Juárez-Mora

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Yawning is highly contagious, yet both its proximate mechanism(s) and its ultimate causation remain poorly understood. Scholars have suggested a link between contagious yawning (CY) and sociality due to its appearance in mostly social species. Nevertheless, as findings are inconsistent, CY’s function and evolution remains heavily debated. One way to understand the evolution of CY is by studying it in hominids. Although CY has been found in chimpanzees and bonobos, but is absent in gorillas, data on orangutans are missing despite them being the least social hominid. Orangutans are thus interesting for understanding CY’s phylogeny. Here, we experimentally tested whether orangutans yawn contagiously in response to videos of conspecifics yawning. Furthermore, we investigated whether CY was affected by familiarity with the yawning individual (i.e. a familiar or unfamiliar conspecific and a 3D orangutan avatar). In 700 trials across 8 individuals, we found that orangutans are more likely to yawn in response to yawn videos compared to control videos of conspecifics, but not to yawn videos of the avatar. Interestingly, CY occurred regardless of whether a conspecific was familiar or unfamiliar. We conclude that CY was likely already present in the last common ancestor of humans and great apes, though more converging evidence is needed.

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“…Špinka 2012; Briefer 2018), including farm animals: some evidence has been found among sheep (e.g., Yonezawa et al 2017), pigs (e.g., Goumon and Špinka, 2016;Reimert et al, 2014), chickens (Edgar et al 2011) and cattle (Boissy et al, 1998). Previous studies on horses have showed a transmission of emotions in negative contexts (e.g., Christensen et al 2008;Keeling et al 2009;Rørvang et al 2015;Rørvang and Christensen 2018) but never in positive contexts.…”

Section: Horses Perceived and Reacted To The Emotional Content Of The Videosmentioning

confidence: 99%