• Corpus ID: 26422335

Music and testosterone. A new hypothesis for the origin and function of music.

@article{Fukui2001MusicAT,
  title={Music and testosterone. A new hypothesis for the origin and function of music.},
  author={Hajime Fukui},
  journal={Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
  year={2001},
  volume={930},
  pages={
          448-51
        }
}

• H. Fukui
• Published 2001
• Biology, Psychology
• Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

The origin and function of music have been discussed extensively,1 but they remain a mystery. There have been numerous discussions about the close relationship between spatial ability and testosterone,2 spatial ability and musical ability,3 and testosterone and musical ability.4 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.5 I reported findings that music suppressed testosterone in the male.6 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.