What happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone?

Updated

Seeing a yawn activates visual cortex and fusiform gyrus to recognise it, then premotor cortex mirror neurons may simulate the action. The insula adds an empathic urge, and motor cortex triggers your own yawn.

Visual Cortex, Fusiform Gyrus, Premotor Cortex, Insula, Motor Cortex lit up on the Brain Atlas 3D brain: what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone
Figure. The brain regions that light up when you catch a yawn from someone, in order: Visual Cortex (seeing the yawn), then Fusiform Gyrus (recognising the face), then Premotor Cortex (mirror neurons fire), then Insula (the urge), then Motor Cortex (the yawn escapes).

Watch it light up on the 3D brain

Brain regions that light up

OrderRegionWhat it does here
1Visual CortexPrimary visual cortex processes the sight of another person yawning.
2Fusiform GyrusThe fusiform gyrus identifies the facial expression as a yawn.
3Premotor CortexPremotor cortex mirror neurons may activate the motor pattern for yawning.
4InsulaThe insula integrates the perceived yawn with your internal state, creating a contagious urge.
5Motor CortexMotor cortex sends commands to facial and respiratory muscles, producing a yawn.

1. Visual Cortex: seeing the yawn

Step 1 of what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone: Visual Cortex lit on the Brain Atlas 3D brain
Figure 1. Visual Cortex, seeing the yawn: Primary visual cortex processes the sight of another person yawning.

Visual information from the eyes first reaches the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain. Here, basic features like motion and shape are extracted before being sent to higher visual areas for interpretation.

2. Fusiform Gyrus: recognising the face

Step 2 of what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone: Visual Cortex, Fusiform Gyrus lit on the Brain Atlas 3D brain
Figure 2. Fusiform Gyrus, recognising the face: The fusiform gyrus identifies the facial expression as a yawn.

The fusiform gyrus is specialised for face recognition. It decodes the stretching mouth and closed eyes as a yawn, linking the visual input to a known social cue.

3. Premotor Cortex: mirror neurons fire

Step 3 of what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone: Visual Cortex, Fusiform Gyrus, Premotor Cortex lit on the Brain Atlas 3D brain
Figure 3. Premotor Cortex, mirror neurons fire: Premotor cortex mirror neurons may activate the motor pattern for yawning.

Mirror neurons in the premotor cortex are thought to fire both when we perform an action and when we see someone else perform it. Here, they may simulate the yawn motor sequence, preparing your body to copy it.

4. Insula: the urge

Step 4 of what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone: Visual Cortex, Fusiform Gyrus, Premotor Cortex, Insula lit on the Brain Atlas 3D brain
Figure 4. Insula, the urge: The insula integrates the perceived yawn with your internal state, creating a contagious urge.

The insula processes interoceptive signals and empathy. It links the observed yawn to your own bodily feelings, strengthening the automatic tendency to yawn in response.

5. Motor Cortex: the yawn escapes

Step 5 of what happens in your brain when you catch a yawn from someone: Visual Cortex, Fusiform Gyrus, Premotor Cortex, Insula, Motor Cortex lit on the Brain Atlas 3D brain
Figure 5. Motor Cortex, the yawn escapes: Motor cortex sends commands to facial and respiratory muscles, producing a yawn.

Once the motor plan is activated and the urge builds, the primary motor cortex executes the yawning movement. It coordinates jaw opening, deep inhalation, and stretching of facial muscles.

Good to know

  • Contagious yawning is more common in humans and some primates with strong social bonds, and is thought to be linked to empathy.
  • Mirror neurons were first discovered in the premotor cortex of macaque monkeys by Rizzolatti and colleagues in the 1990s.
  • Yawning may help cool the brain by increasing blood flow and altering cerebral temperature.

Contagious yawning vs spontaneous yawning

Spontaneous yawning is driven by brainstem and hypothalamic circuits that regulate arousal and temperature, with little cortical involvement. Contagious yawning additionally recruits visual, face-processing, and putative mirror neuron regions, making it a social phenomenon rather than a purely physiological reflex.

Test yourself

  1. Which brain region is thought to contain mirror neurons that fire when you see someone yawn?

  2. The insula's role in contagious yawning is primarily linked to:

  3. Which region is responsible for the final execution of the yawn movement?

0 of 3 answered · 0 correct

Simplified: many regions work together at once, and this shows the main players in the order they act.