What is the connection between love hormone oxytocin and music?
Oxytocin (or the “love hormone” as it is often called) is a major regulator of sexual arousal, pair-bonding, and maternal behavior. Oxytocin also regulates non-reproductive social behavior, which can be artificially manipulated by altering oxytocin levels. When people played in games in a research setting with inhaled oxytocin, they became both more confidence-inducing and more empathetic towards other players. But can too much oxytocin be a bad thing?
Williams Syndrome
A study by Li Dai, Julie Korenberg and colleagues published in PLoS ONE highlights the role that oxytocin (and a related hormone called vasopressin) can play in the excessive sociability shown by people with rare genetic developmental disorder Williams Syndrome. Williams syndrome, which affects about one in 7500 people, is caused by the deletion of approximately 28 genes on chromosome 7. Symptoms of Williams syndrome often include intellectual disability, heart defects, and certain facial features, such as a wide mouth and sunken nose bridge. In addition, people with the syndrome are often very social and outgoing, and one of the characteristic traits of the condition is too strong trust from strangers that is difficult to break through. People with Williams syndrome often exhibit another interesting trait: they have a strong affinity for and deep emotional reactions to music.
