Abstract
Pathological yawning can be a clinical sign in disorders affecting the brainstem. Here we describe seven patients with pathological yawning caused by acute middle cerebral artery stroke, indicating that pathological yawning also occurs in supratentorial stroke. We hypothesise that excessive yawning is a consequence of lesions in cortical or subcortical areas, which physiologically control diencephalic yawning centres.
MeSH terms
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Acute Disease
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Brain Stem / physiopathology
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Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
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Diencephalon / physiopathology
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Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
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Female
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Humans
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Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / diagnosis
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Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / physiopathology*
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Nerve Net / physiopathology
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Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / physiopathology
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Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Yawning / physiology*