Content uploaded by Hajime Fukui
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Hajime Fukui on Jun 12, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Music and testosterone - A new hypothesis for the origin and function of music
Abstract and Figures
The origin and function of music have been discussed extensively, but they remain a mystery. There have been numerous discussions about the close relationship between spatial ability and testosterone, spatial ability and musical ability, and testosterone and musical ability. The reason that a sex hormone such as testosterone is closely related to music is still unknown despite the many reports that music affects the human endocrine system. I reported findings that music suppressed testosterone in the male. The current study investigates whether listening to music affects the testosterone level in females and whether any sex differences exist in the effect of listening to music on testosterone level. Finally, I propose a new hypothesis for the evolutionary function and origin of music.
Figures - uploaded by Hajime Fukui
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Hajime Fukui
Content may be subject to copyright.
... In parallel, testosterone appears to downregulate processes related to social affiliation, for example, by decreasing facial mimicry (Hermans et al., 2006), empathic accuracy (van Honk et al., 2011), and trust (Bos et al., 2010). There is also some preliminary evidence suggesting that listening to various forms of music may lower testosterone levels in males (Fukui, 2001;Fukui and Toyoshima, 2013;Fukui and Yamashita, 2003), which, if extended to music making, may indicate that group singing can act on testosterone alongside oxytocin and cortisol to further modulate affiliation and social bonding. ...
... This is an important preliminary finding, but we emphasize caution in its interpreted because of the relatively low power of our testosterone model (observations per estimated effect =6.18). Nevertheless, we saw no indication that potential acute effects of music listening on male testosterone levels extend to singing (Fukui, 2001;Fukui and Toyoshima, 2013;Fukui and Yamashita, 2003). Future studies examining testosterone in the context of group singing or other musical behaviors should consider incorporating further factors or measurements potentially relevant to testosterone, such as the existence of interpersonal friendships, individual social status, singing skill, and competitive/cooperative group dynamics (Casto and Edwards, 2016;Edwards et al., 2006;Ponzi et al., 2016). ...
Humans have sung together for thousands of years. Today, regular participation in group singing is associated with benefits across psychological and biological dimensions of human health. Here we examine the hypothesis that a portion of these benefits stem from changes in endocrine activity associated with affiliation and social bonding. Working with a young adult choir (n = 71), we measured changes salivary concentrations of oxytocin, cortisol, and testosterone from before and after four experimental conditions crossing two factors: vocal production mode (singing vs. speaking) and social context (together vs. alone). Salivary oxytocin and cortisol decreased from before to after the experimental manipulations. For oxytocin the magnitude of this decrease was significantly smaller after singing compared to speaking, resulting in concentrations that were significantly elevated after singing together compared to speaking together, after controlling for baseline differences. In contrast, the magnitude of the salivary cortisol decreases was the same across experimental manipulations, and although large, could not be separated from diurnal cycling. No significant effects were found in a low-powered exploratory evaluation of testosterone (tested only in males). At a psychological level, we found that singing stimulates greater positive shifts in self-perceived affect compared to speaking—particularly when performed together—and that singing together enhances feelings of social connection more than speaking together. Finally, measurements of heart rate made for a subset of participants provide preliminary evidence regarding physical exertion levels across conditions. These results are discussed in the context of a growing multidisciplinary literature on the endocrinological correlates of musical behavior. We conclude that singing together can have biological and psychological effects associated with affiliation and social bonding, and that these effects extend beyond comparable but non-musical group activities. However, we also note that these effects appear heavily influenced by broader contextual factors that shape social dynamics, such as stress levels, the intimacy of interactions, and the status of existing relationships.
... Brown , 2000bMerker 2000;Cross 2009Cross , 2012Dunbar 2003Dunbar , 2012Koelsch and Siebel 2005;Mithen 2005;Gamble 2012;Morley 2013). The underlying mechanism here might involve its suppressing testosterone and stimulating endorphins (Fukui and Yamashita 1998;Fukui 2001;Dunbar 2012). It has been suggested that music serves as a form of vocal grooming at a distance (Dunbar 2003(Dunbar , 2012 and that it can contribute to conflict resolution (Fukui 2001;Huron 2003;Bown and Wiggins 2009). ...
... The underlying mechanism here might involve its suppressing testosterone and stimulating endorphins (Fukui and Yamashita 1998;Fukui 2001;Dunbar 2012). It has been suggested that music serves as a form of vocal grooming at a distance (Dunbar 2003(Dunbar , 2012 and that it can contribute to conflict resolution (Fukui 2001;Huron 2003;Bown and Wiggins 2009). ...
and Key Words Making or listening to music is pan-cultural, nearly universal, and highly valued. Musical behaviors probably appeared between 500,000 and 60,000 years ago. The more recent date captures the era when H. sapiens spread globally from Africa. The older date corresponds with a time when song might have produced individual or social benefits and the physiological and cognitive conditions for its production were present (in our predecessor, H. heidelbergensis). Music is so multi-functional, however, that it is not clear if it was an evolutionary adaptation (as opposed to a byproduct or non-biological technology) or, if so, what it was an adaptation for.
... Under these circumstances, few studies have examined the relationship between T and music, which plays critical role in human behaviour. Additionally, discussions from the viewpoint of origins and evolution have been scant (Fukui, 2001). Recently, research has demonstrated that listening to and playing music affects T and OXT and that music is closely related to social behaviours, such as co-operation, empathy and altruism (Fukui and Toyoshima, 2014); moreover, music has been approached from an evolutionary perspective (Harvey, 2020). ...
Since the time of Darwin, theories have been proposed on the origin and functions of music; however, the subject remains enigmatic. The literature shows that music is closely related to important human behaviours and abilities, namely, cognition, emotion, reward and sociality (co-operation, entrainment, empathy and altruism). Notably, studies have deduced that these behaviours are closely related to testosterone (T) and oxytocin (OXT). The association of music with important human behaviours and neurochemicals is closely related to the understanding of reproductive and social behaviours being unclear. In this paper, we describe the endocrinological functions of human social and musical behaviour and demonstrate its relationship to T and OXT. We then hypothesised that the emergence of music is associated with behavioural adaptations and emerged as humans socialised to ensure survival. Moreover, the proximal factor in the emergence of music is behavioural control (social tolerance) through the regulation of T and OXT, and the ultimate factor is group survival through co-operation. The “survival value” of music has rarely been approached from the perspective of musical behavioural endocrinology. This paper provides a new perspective on the origin and functions of music.
... Musik membantu untuk meningkatkan semangat untuk menjalani kegiatan sehari-hari. Sebuah studi menunjukkan bahwa dengan memperdengarkan musik dapat memengaruhi testosteron pada laki-laki dan perempuan (Fukui, 2001). Testosteron dapat memengaruhi perilaku manusia dan perilaku dapat mengubah kadar testosteron. ...
Mengajarkan musik tentunya juga membutuhkan suatu teori dan referensi. Khususnya kepada anak-anak, ada beberapa pendekatan yang dapat digunakan untuk mengajarkan musik. Buku ini menujukkan beberapa pendekatan pembelajaran tersebut, mulai dari hal-hal yang penting dilakukan untuk mengajarkan musik kepada anak, strategi mengajarkan teori musik, hingga metode-metode populer yang diajarkan di sekolah-sekolah di dunia. Buku ini juga memaparkan praktik belajar musik yang menyenangkan untuk anak-anak, termasuk yang berbasis teknologi. Tidak hanya itu, pembahasan diawali dengan dasar-dasar tentang apa itu musik dan manfaatnya serta diakhiri dengan jawaban-jawaban atas pertanyaan-pertanyaan penting terkait musik dan pengenalan tentang tokoh-tokoh penting dalam sejarah teori musik.
Pelajarilah buku ini untuk mendapatkan berbagai referensi pengajaran musik yang dibutuhkan untuk mengenalkan musik kepada anak-anak. Selamat membaca!
... These results are in agreement with the adaptative meaning of music because humans needed a system to control competition for resources or reproduction, food and mates when they start to live in societies. 9 The ratio of the length between the second and fourth fingers in hands was measured in elite musicians and controls. Curiously they found that male musicians had significantly lower 2D:4D ratios in both hands (indicating high testosterone exposure in the womb, greater sensitivity or both). ...
Music is an art form and cultural activity whose language, the sounds and silences, is organized in time with logic and sensitivity. Music as a whole is the result of an ancestral nonverbal and international mode of human expression and communication. The primitive and former mother-child bonding might be highly influenced and modulated by the music and singing with their babies. Musicality and music imply two different sides of the same coin, where the former is based on the human capacity to produce the latter. Some theories about evolution suggest music might have an adaptive advantage for humans in society. Historical examples of different styles in music point out that if any allusion or reminder about gender in music might happen most probably occurs in folk non always written pagan or secular music with lyrics or voice. This genre of music usually tells about traditional gender differences in jobs, habits, lifestyles, etc., and has a clear preference for male musicians, while on the contrary, classical music usually does not have a clear gender difference in meaning, and instruments are played by both. In this text, I explore and empirically describe, neuroanatomically or functionally, some examples of different genres of music and brain differences, related to music and dance. Three different genres of music (Classical music, Fado and Flamenco) are explored in an attempt to elucidate some reasons for possible gender differences.
... Converging evidence has mostly corroborated intersexual selection as one of the possible processes influencing the evolution of human aesthetic creativity and artistic propensities (Low, 1979;Karamihalev, 2013). The mere listening of enjoyable background music leads to: increased testosterone levels in women (Fukui, 2001), women's increased attractiveness ratings of male photographs (May and Hamilton, 1980;Marin et al., 2017), and women's increased desire to go on a romantic date with the individuals in the photographs; no such effects were found in men (Marin et al., 2017). Groovy background music increases women's desire to meet again a speed dating partner, and the synchronization of their body sway predicts their interest in a long-term relationship beyond perceived attractiveness (Chang et al., 2021). ...
Since Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating the relationship between the self-perceived talent/expertise in 16 artistic and 2 sports modalities and proxies of intersexual selection (i.e., mate value, mating and parenting efforts, sociosexuality, and number of sexual partners) and intrasexual competition (i.e., aggressiveness, intrasexual competitiveness) in heterosexuals. Participants were 82 Brazilian men, 166 Brazilian women, 146 Czech men, and 458 Czech women (Mage = 26.48, SD = 7.12). Factor analysis revealed five factors: Literary-arts (creative writing, humor, acting/theater/film, poetry, storytelling), Visual-arts (painting/drawing, sculpting, handcrafting, culinary arts, architecture design), Musical-arts (playing/instruments, singing, dance, whistling), Circus-arts (juggling, acrobatics), and Sports (individual, collective). Multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) showed more associations of the arts to intersexual selection in women and to intrasexual selection in men, and overall more relationships in women than in men. In women, literary and musical-arts were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selections proxies, visual and circus-arts were related to elevated intersexual selection proxies, and sports were related to intrasexual selection proxies. In men, literary-arts and sports were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selection proxies, musical-arts were related to intrasexual proxies, and circus-arts were related to intersexual proxies; visual-arts did not have predictors. Although present in both sexes, each sexual selection component has different relative importance in each sex. Artisticality functions to attract and maintain long/short-term partners, and to compete with mating rivals.
Cultural innovations, such as tools and other technical articles useful for survival, imply that creativity is an outcome of evolution. However, the existence of purely ornamental items obfuscates the functional value of creativity. What is the functional or adaptive value of aesthetic and intellectual ornaments? Recent evidence shows a connection between ornamental creativity, an individual’s attractiveness, and their reproductive success. However, this association is not sufficient for establishing that creativity in humans evolved by sexual selection. In this critical review, we synthesize findings from many disciplines about the mechanisms, ontogeny, phylogeny, and the function of creativity in sexual selection. Existing research indicates that creativity has the characteristics expected of a trait evolved by sexual selection: genetic basis, sexual dimorphism, wider variety in males, influence of sex hormones, dysfunctional expressions, an advantage in mating in humans and other animals, and psychological modules adapted to mating contexts. Future studies should investigate mixed findings in the existing literature, such as creativity not being found particularly attractive in a non-WEIRD society. Moreover, we identified remaining knowledge gaps and recommend that further research should be undertaken in the following areas: sexual and reproductive correlates of creativity in non-WEIRD societies, relationship between androgens, development, and creative expression, as well as the impact of ornamental, technical and everyday creativity on attractiveness. Evolutionary research should analyze whether being an evolved signal of genetic quality is the only way in which creativity becomes sexually selected and therefore passed on from generation to generation. This review has gone a long way toward integrating and enhancing our understanding of ornamental creativity as a possible sexual selected psychological trait.
Zusammenfassung
Musik hat eng mit Erotik und Sexualität zu tun, von Liebesspielen in der Oper über die Sexualsymbolik im Kunst- und Volkslied bis hin zur sexuell stimulierenden Musik im privaten und gewerblichen Bereich. Auf der anderen Seite steht Sexualverhalten eng mit dem endokrinen System im Zusammenhang. Eine Verbindung zwischen Musik und Hormonen liegt daher nahe, was allerdings in der Forschung bislang weitgehend ignoriert wurde. Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht durch seinen Fokus auf den Zusammenhang von Musik mit Hormonen, die im Sexualbereich eine Rolle spielen, eine (mögliche) Brücke zu schlagen. Dabei kommen konkret Testosteron, Östrogen, Oxytocin, Endorphine und Prolaktin zur Sprache. Sollte sich tatsächlich ein engerer neuroendokrinologischer Zusammenhang zwischen Musik und Sexualverhalten – was noch Forschungsdesiderat ist – herausstellen, so liegen Auswirkungen auf die Sexualsoziologie und Sexualtherapie nahe. Im Kontext mit dem vorliegenden Beitrag bezieht sich das wesentlich auch auf interkulturelle Aspekte und die Altchinesischen Sexualtherapie.
Schlüsselwörter
Musik, sexuelle Erregung, Endokrinologie, Oxytocin, Sexualtherapie
Abstract
Music, erotic feelings, and sexuality go hand in hand, as witnessed by love scenes in operas, sex symbols in songs, and sexually arousing music in private an commercial areas. On the other hand, sexual behaviour is closely interconnected with the endocrine system. Hence there are good reasons to consider hormones the missing link between both domains. Given that until today this aspect has been widely ignored by science, this article tries to explore the relation between music and selected hormones that modulate sexual behaviour and/or play a crucial role for sex-associated processes: testosterone, oestrogen, oxytocin, endorphins, and prolactin. If it turns out that neuro-endocrine processes modulate the still heuristic connection between music and sexual behaviour, findings will probably have a strong impact on the sociology of sexuality and sex therapy. Research referring to these topics, however, is still lacking. In this context, the present article also highlights cross-cultural issues and takes Ancient Chinese Sex Therapy into consideration.
Keywords
Music, sexual arousal, endocrinology, oxytocin, sexual therapy
Hudba je jedinečným fenoménom v každej kultúre. Je univerzálna a má schopnosť pôsobiť na emocionalitu poslucháča. Zväčša sa však o hudbe uvažuje len z pohľadu estetiky alebo hudobnej teórie. Predkladaná diplomová práca sa preto pokúša o obšírnejšiu analýzu hudby prostredníctvom kognitívnych vied. Využíva pri tom oblasť filozofie, evolučných teórií, neurovied a umelej inteligencie. Súčasťou práce je aj experimentálny výskum priestorového vnímania hudby, ktorý reflektuje jedinečnosť ľudského vnímania a aspekt hudby, ktorý ovplyvňuje emocionalitu. Keďže hudba už nie je iba doménou ľudí, ale na jej produkcii sa podieľa aj umelá inteligencia, diplomová práca experimentálne skúma aj produkciu umelej inteligencie, ktorú podrobuje Turingovmu testu.
The relationship between musical talent, especially the ability to compose and/or improvise, and visual-spatial ability was investi- gated. Subjects were 60 boys and 60 girls from 9 to 14 years of age. Three groups of 40 were compared: (1) Children with musical talent and the ability to compose and/or improvise. (2) Children with musical talent without the ability to compose and/or impro- vise. (3) Non-musicians as controls. The spatial visualisation factor was found to be significantly related to musical talent in boys and in girls; high scores on Witelson's Dichaptic Stimulation Test were significantly related to musical talent in boys. The 13 boys and 13 girls with highest scores for their compositions and/or improvis- ations as evaluated by music scientists were contrasted with group 3. Results from the total sample were confirmed. One year later 51 boys and 52 girls who had participated in the first stage of the study were retested. Creative musical ability was significantly related to spatial orientation in both boys and girls and to spatial visual- isation in boys.
Mood and response to auditory sexual stimuli were assessed in 33 hypogonadal men receiving testosterone (T) replacement therapy, 10 eugonadal men receiving T in a male contraceptive clinical trial, and 19 eugonadal men not administered T. Prior to and after 6 weeks of hormone administration, men completed a mood questionnaire, rated sexual arousal to and sexual enjoyment of auditory sexual stimuli, and performed a dichotic listening task measuring selective attention for sexual stimuli. Mood questionnaire results suggest that T has positive effects on mood in hypogonadal men when hormone levels are well below the normal male range of values, but does not have any effects on mood when hormone levels are within or above the normal range. However, increased sexual arousal and sexual enjoyment were associated with T administration regardless of gonadal status. Eugonadal men administered T also increased in the bias to attend to sexual stimuli. In contrast, the comparison group of eugonadal men not administered T showed no mood or sexual behavior changes across the two test sessions. These data support a positive relationship between T and sexual interest, sexual arousal, and sexual enjoyment in men.
The neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin has been implicated in many aspects of reproduction including sexual behavior. This review considers the hypotheses that oxytocin and/or the neural events surrounding the release of oxytocin may have behavioral effects during sexual arousal, orgasm, sexual satiety and other aspects of sociosexual interactions.
The cognitive performance of normal men and women was studied, grouped according to whether the subjects had relatively high or low salivary testosterone (T) concentrations. Men with lower T performed better than other groups on measures of spatial/mathematical ability, tasks at which men normally excel. Women with high T scored higher than low-T women on these same measures. T concentrations did not relate significantly to scores on tests that usually favor women or that do not typically show a sex difference. These results support suggestions of a nonlinear relationship between T concentrations and spatial ability, and demonstrate some task specificity in this respect.
Two recently published hypotheses on the biological basis of special talents are discussed in relation to experimental data obtained from musical composers, instrumentalists, painters, and non-musicians, and from adolescent boys and girls with different levels of musical capacities. Both hypotheses assign an important influence to prenatal testosterone effects on the developing brain. Geschwind and Galaburda (1985) predict that subjects with special talents may have anomalous hemispheric dominance for verbal material. This was confirmed experimentally in adolescents and in adults using a dichotic listening task to assess functional lateralization. Hassler and Nieschlag (1989) expect musicians of both sexes to be psychologically androgynous and to have current testosterone levels that differ from sex-typed males and females. Salivary testosterone was measured in adults and in adolescents. Creative musical behavior was associated with very low testosterone values in males, and with high testosterone levels in females. Sexual activity level and motivation did not differ between males with testosterone levels less than or equal to 200 pmol/l and those with greater than 220 pmol/l. We tentatively suggest from our data that, among a complex interaction of biological and social factors, an optimal testosterone range may exist for the expression of creative musical behavior. Exceeding the range in the course of adolescence may be detrimental for musical creativity in boys.