Yawning is a clinical sign of the activity of various supra- and infratentorial brain regions including the putative brainstem motor pattern, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, probably the insula and limbic structures that are interconnected via a fiber network. This interaction can be seen in analogy to other cerebral functions arising from a network or zone such as language. Within this network, yawning fulfills its function in a stereotype, reflex-like manner; a phylogenetically old function, preserved across species barriers, with the purpose of arousal, communication, and maybe other functions including respiration. Abnormal yawning with ≥3 yawns/15 min without obvious cause arises from lesions of brain areas involved in the yawning zone, its trajectories causing a disconnection syndrome, or from alteration of network activity by physical or metabolic etiologies including medication.

打哈欠是各种上，下脑部大脑区域活动的临床体征，包括推定的脑干运动模式，下丘脑室旁核，可能是通过纤维网络相互连接的岛突和边缘结构。可以类似于网络或区域（例如语言）引起的其他脑功能看到这种相互作用。在这个网络中，打哈欠以一种定型的，类似反射的方式来实现其功能。一种系统发育的旧功能，跨物​​种屏障保留，目的是唤醒，交流和其他功能，包括呼吸。打哈欠区的大脑区域病变引起≥15次打哈欠的异常打哈欠，≥15打哈欠，没有明显原因，其轨迹导致断开综合征，