TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexual arousal and rhythmic synchronization: A possible effect of vasopressin
AU - Miani, Alessandro
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Music is ubiquitous. Yet, its biological relevance is still an ongoing debate. Supporting the view that music had an ancestral role in courtship displays, a pilot study presented here provides preliminary evidence on the link between music and sexual selection. The underlying hypothesis is based on the fact that the sexually dimorphic neuropeptide vasopressin has its receptors in the part of the brain involved in music and dance performance (the basal ganglia), and its concentrations rise during sexual arousal in men. In addition, music, dance, and courtship phenotypes seem to be in part regulated by vasopressin and its genes. Hence, to test this hypothesis, a rhythmic synchronization task was employed here on one male subject during sexual arousal. Results revealed a significant effect of sexual arousal on rhythm synchronization. This is the first report that empirically supports the hypothesis on the role of music in sexual selection. Further studies are clearly required.
AB - Music is ubiquitous. Yet, its biological relevance is still an ongoing debate. Supporting the view that music had an ancestral role in courtship displays, a pilot study presented here provides preliminary evidence on the link between music and sexual selection. The underlying hypothesis is based on the fact that the sexually dimorphic neuropeptide vasopressin has its receptors in the part of the brain involved in music and dance performance (the basal ganglia), and its concentrations rise during sexual arousal in men. In addition, music, dance, and courtship phenotypes seem to be in part regulated by vasopressin and its genes. Hence, to test this hypothesis, a rhythmic synchronization task was employed here on one male subject during sexual arousal. Results revealed a significant effect of sexual arousal on rhythm synchronization. This is the first report that empirically supports the hypothesis on the role of music in sexual selection. Further studies are clearly required.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84971277115&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.05.030
DO - 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.05.030
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27372870
SN - 0306-9877
VL - 93
SP - 122
EP - 125
JO - Medical Hypotheses
JF - Medical Hypotheses
ER -