Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T08:42:33.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Oxytocin as an allostatic agent in the social bonding effects of music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Niels Chr. Hansen Open the ORCID record for Niels Chr. Hansen [Opens in a new window]  and
Peter E. Keller Open the ORCID record for Peter E. Keller [Opens in a new window]
Niels Chr. Hansen
Affiliation:
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000Aarhus C, Denmark. nchansen@aias.au.dk; http://www.nielschrhansen.com/ Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
Peter E. Keller
Affiliation:
The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW2751, Australia. p.keller@westernsydney.edu.au; http://pkpublications.weebly.com/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite acknowledging that musicality evolved to serve multiple adaptive functions in human evolution, Savage et al. promote social bonding to an overarching super-function. Yet, no unifying neurobiological framework is offered. We propose that oxytocin constitutes a socio-allostatic agent whose modulation of sensing, learning, prediction, and behavioral responses with reference to the physical and social environment facilitates music's social bonding effects.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e75
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alley, J. C., & Diamond, L. M. (2020). Oxytocin and human sexuality: Recent developments. Current Sexual Health Reports, 12, 182–185. doi: 10.1007/s11930-020-00274-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartz, J. A., Zaki, J., Bolger, N., & Ochsner, K. N. (2011). Social effects of oxytocin in humans: Context and person matter. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(7), 301–309. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.002.Google ScholarPubMed
Baskerville, T. A., & Douglas, A. J. (2010). Dopamine and oxytocin interactions underlying behaviors: Potential contributions to behavioral disorders. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 16(3), e92–e123. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00154.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carter, C. S. (2014). Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 17–39. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carter, C. S. (2017). The role of oxytocin and vasopressin in attachment. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 45(4), 499–517. doi: 10.1521/pdps.2017.45.4.499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chini, B., Leonzino, M., Braida, D., & Sala, M. (2014). Learning about oxytocin: Pharmacologic and behavioral issues. Biological Psychiatry, 76(5), 360–366. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.08.029.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Ausilio, A., Novembre, G., Fadiga, L., & Keller, P. E. (2015). What can music tell us about social interaction? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(3), 111–114. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.01.005.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Dreu, C. K., Greer, L. L., Van Kleef, G. A., Shalvi, S., & Handgraaf, M. J. (2011). Oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(4), 1262–1266. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1015316108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Declerck, C. H., Boone, C., Pauwels, L., Vogt, B., & Fehr, E. (2020). A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 646–655. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0878-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckstein, M., Bamert, V., Stephens, S., Wallen, K., Young, L. J., Ehlert, U., & Ditzen, B. (2019). Oxytocin increases eye-gaze towards novel social and non-social stimuli. Social Neuroscience, 14(5), 594–607. doi: 10.1080/17470919.2018.1542341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Egito, J. H., Nevat, M., Shamay-Tsoory, S. G., & Osório, A. A. C. (2020). Oxytocin increases the social salience of the outgroup in potential threat contexts. Hormones and Behavior, 122, 104733. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gebauer, L., Witek, M. A., Hansen, N. C., Thomas, J., Konvalinka, I., & Vuust, P. (2016). Oxytocin improves synchronisation in leader-follower interaction. Scientific Reports, 6, 38416. doi: 10.1038/srep38416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
González-Hernández, A., Rojas-Piloni, G., & Condés-Lara, M. (2014). Oxytocin and analgesia: Future trends. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 35(11), 549–551. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2014.09.004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grape, C., Sandgren, M., Hansson, L. O., Ericson, M., & Theorell, T. (2002). Does singing promote well-being? An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 38(1), 65–74. doi: 10.1007/BF02734261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graustella, A. J., & MacLeod, C. (2012). A critical review of the influence of oxytocin nasal spray on social cognition in humans: Evidence and future directions. Hormones and Behavior, 61(3), 410–418. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.01.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grippo, A. J., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Sanzenbacher, L., Trahanas, D. M., McNeal, N., Clarke, D. A., … Sue Carter, C. (2012). Peripheral oxytocin administration buffers autonomic but not behavioral responses to environmental stressors in isolated prairie voles. Stress, 15(2), 149–161. doi: 10.3109/10253890.2011.605486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Josef, L., Goldstein, P., Mayseless, N., Ayalon, L., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. (2019). The oxytocinergic system mediates synchronized interpersonal movement during dance. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–8. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37141-1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keeler, J. R., Roth, E. A., Neuser, B. L., Spitsbergen, J. M., Waters, D. J. M., & Vianney, J. M. (2015). The neurochemistry and social flow of singing: Bonding and oxytocin. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 518. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435(7042), 673–676. doi: 10.1038/nature03701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovatsi, L., & Nikolaou, K. (2019). Opioids and the hormone oxytocin. Vitamins and Hormones, 111, 195–225. doi: 10.1016/bs.vh.2019.05.003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lancaster, K., Goldbeck, L., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Connelly, J. J., Carter, C. S., & Morris, J. P. (2018). The role of endogenous oxytocin in anxiolysis: Structural and functional correlates. Biological Psychiatry, 3(7), 618–625. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.10.003.Google ScholarPubMed
Leng, G., & Ludwig, M. (2016). Intranasal oxytocin: Myths and delusions. Biological Psychiatry, 79(3), 243–250. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.05.003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Love, T. M. (2014). Oxytocin, motivation and the role of dopamine. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 119, 49–60. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2013.06.011.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marsh, N., Marsh, A. A., Lee, M. R., & Hurlemann, R. (2020). Oxytocin and the neurobiology of prosocial behavior. The Neuroscientist 15(2), 469–482. doi: 10.1177/1745691619876528.Google Scholar
McCullough, M. E., Churchland, P. S., & Mendez, A. J. (2013). Problems with measuring peripheral oxytocin: Can the data on oxytocin and human behavior be trusted? Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 37(8), 1485–1492. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.04.018.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Podlipniak, P. (2017). The role of the Baldwin effect in the evolution of human musicality. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 11, 542. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00542.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quintana, D. S., & Guastella, A. J. (2020). An allostatic theory of oxytocin. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24(7), 515–528. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.03.008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saxbe, D. E., Beckes, L., Stoycos, S. A., & Coan, J. A. (2020). Social allostasis and social allostatic load: A new model for research in social dynamics, stress, and health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(2), 469–482. doi: 10.1177/1745691619876528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schladt, T. M., Nordmann, G. C., Emilius, R., Kudielka, B. M., de Jong, T. R., & Neumann, I. D. (2017). Choir versus solo singing: Effects on mood, and salivary oxytocin and cortisol concentrations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 430. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00430.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulkin, J. (2011). Social allostasis: Anticipatory regulation of the internal milieu. Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience, 2, 111. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2010.00111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shahrestani, S., Kemp, A. H., & Guastella, A. J. (2013). The impact of a single administration of intranasal oxytocin on the recognition of basic emotions in humans: A meta-analysis. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(10), 1929–1936. doi: 10.1038/npp.2013.86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamay-Tsoory, S. G., Fischer, M., Dvash, J., Harari, H., Perach-Bloom, N., & Levkovitz, Y. (2009). Intranasal administration of oxytocin increases envy and schadenfreude (gloating). Biological Psychiatry, 66(9), 864–870. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.06.009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szymanska, M., Schneider, M., Chateau-Smith, C., Nezelof, S., & Vulliez-Coady, L. (2017). Psychophysiological effects of oxytocin on parent-child interactions: A literature review on oxytocin and parent–child interactions. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 71(10), 690–705. doi: 10.1111/pcn.12544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Theofanopoulou, C., Boeckx, C., & Jarvis, E. D. (2017). A hypothesis on a role of oxytocin in the social mechanisms of speech and vocal learning. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1861), 20170988. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van der Schyff, D., & Schiavio, A. (2017). Evolutionary musicology meets embodied cognition: Biocultural coevolution and the enactive origins of human musicality. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 11, 519. doi: 0.3389/fnins.2017.00519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walum, H., Waldman, I. D., & Young, L. J. (2016). Statistical and methodological considerations for the interpretation of intranasal oxytocin studies. Biological Psychiatry, 79(3), 251–257. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.06.016.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, N., Li, Z., & Su, Y. (2012). The association between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (OXTR) and trait empathy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 138(3), 468–472. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.01.009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zak, P. J., Stanton, A. A., & Ahmadi, S. (2007). Oxytocin increases generosity in humans. PLoS ONE, 2(11), e1128. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed