Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar:139:105105.
doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105105. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Endogenous oxytocin, cortisol, and testosterone in response to group singing

Affiliations

Endogenous oxytocin, cortisol, and testosterone in response to group singing

D L Bowling et al. Horm Behav. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Affect; Bonding; Cortisol; Music; Oxytocin; Speech; Synchrony; Testosterone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study sample and experimental procedure. (A) The 71 participants in this study enclosed by colored lines indicating the experimental conditions they took part in (shading indicates sex; males in gray, females in white). Participants enclosed by multiple colors took part in multiple conditions (always in the same vocal mode). Red hearts indicate participants that wore wireless heart rate monitors in the conditions they took part in. The red arrow indicates the one heart rate monitor in the speaking-alone condition that was moved to a different individual in the speaking-together condition; see main text). Bullet points describe the data collected in each condition, including the total number of saliva samples collected and subsets assayed for oxytocin “o”, cortisol “c”, and testosterone “t”, the total numbers of surveys administered (and subsets scored), and the number of heart rate measurements made. (B) The order of events in each experimental condition shown over time.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Oxytocin results. (A) Log-transformed salivary oxytocin concentrations plotted as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context. Each circle represents one sample, red = female, and blue = male. Diagonal black lines connect samples from the same participant. (B) Results of the oxytocin linear mixed model analysis showing estimated average salivary oxytocin concentrations as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context, drawn with estimated effects for test order and sex centered. (C) Model results showing the significant two-way interaction between time and vocal mode (*p = 0.018), drawn with other estimated effects centered. Error bars in B & C indicate 95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Cortisol results. (A) Log-transformed salivary cortisol concentrations plotted as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context. (B) Results of the cortisol linear mixed model analysis showing estimated average cortisol levels as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context, drawn with estimated effects for test order and sex centered. (C) Model results showing the significant main effect of time (*p < 0.001), drawn with other estimated effects centered. Format is the same as in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Testosterone results. Salivary testosterone concentrations in males plotted as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context. Format is the same as in Figs. 2 & 3.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Affect results. (A) Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) total affect scores transformed to range between 0 and 1 plotted as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context. Scores above the horizonal dashed line indicate positive affect > negative affect, scores below the dashed line indicate positive affect < negative affect. (B) Results of the PANAS generalized linear mixed model analysis showing estimated average transformed PANAS total affect scores as a function of time, vocal mode, and social context (and their significant three-way interaction; *p = 0.001), drawn with estimated effects for test order and sex centered. Format is the same as in Figs. 2–4.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Social connectedness results. (A) Inclusion of the Other in the Self (IOS) scale responses shown as a function of time and vocal mode. (B) Results of the IOS cumulative link mixed model analysis showing estimated average IOS scale responses as a function of time and vocal mode (and their significant two-way interaction, *p = 0.008), drawn with estimated effects for test order and sex centered. Format is the same as in Figs. 2–5.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
Physical exertion. (A) Heart rate in beats per minute shown as a function of vocal mode and social context. Each circle represents a mean heart rate value for one participant calculated over the core 10 min of one experimental condition. Diagonal black lines connect measurements from the same individual, with the exception of the line between the two circles marked with Xs, which came from different individuals (see main text). (B) Results of the heart rate linear mixed model analysis showing the significant interaction between vocal mode and social context (*p = 0.029). Format is the same as in Figs. 2–6.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Akimoto K, Hu A, Yamaguchi T, Kobayashi H, 2018. Effect of 528 hz music on the endocrine system and autonomic nervous system. Health (Irvine. Calif) 10, 1159–1170. 10.4236/health.2018.109088. - DOI
    1. van Anders SM, 2013. Beyond masculinity: testosterone, gender/sex, and human social behavior in a comparative context. Front. Neuroendocrinol. 34, 198–210. 10.1016/j.yfrne.2013.07.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anshel A, Kipper D, 1988. The influence of group singing on trust and cooperation. J. Music. Ther 145–155.
    1. Aron A, Aron EN, Smollan D, 1992. Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 63, 596–612. 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.07.015. - DOI
    1. Bailey BA, Davidson JW, 2002. Adaptive characteristics of group singing: perceptions from members of a choir forhomeless men. Music. Sci. 6, 221–256. 10.1177/102986490200600206. - DOI

Publication types