Stephan Bongard

Effects of Choir Singing or Listening on Secretory Immunoglobulin A, Cortisol, and Emotional State

The present study investigates the effects of choir music on secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), cortisol, and emotional states in members of a mixed amateur choir. Subjects participated in two conditions during two rehearsals 1 week apart, namely singing versus listening to choral music. Saliva samples and subjective measures of affect were taken both before each session and 60 min later. Repeated measure analyses of variance were conducted for positive and negative affect scores, S-IgA, and cortisol. Results indicate several significant effects. In particular, singing leads to increases in positive affect and S-IgA, while negative affect is reduced. Listening to choral music leads to an increase in negative affect, and decreases in levels of cortisol. These results suggest that choir singing positively influences both emotional affect and immune competence. The observation that subjective and physiological responses differed between listening and singing conditions invites further investigation of task factors.

Adrenocorticotropin responses to interpersonal stress: effects of overt anger expression style and defensiveness.

This study evaluated the influence of overt anger expression style and defensiveness on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) responses to acute psychological stress. These personality traits are thought to modulate the stress cardiovascular response and influence disease risk, however, little is known about their influence on HPA responses. Forty-six young, healthy male volunteers worked on counterbalanced extended public-speaking and mental arithmetic. The sample was dichotomitized into groups low vs. high in anger-out, using Spielbergers Anger-Expression Inventory, and in defensiveness, using the Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability Scale. Serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations were measured before and after performing each task. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressures (BP) were obtained continuously in 2-min intervals before, during and after the tasks. Public speaking produced greater adrenocortical and cardiovascular stress responses than mental arithmetic, and the greatest increases in ACTH occurred in subjects high in anger-out and defensiveness. These preliminary findings provide evidence that a mismatch between traits of preferred anger expression style and defensive style produces pronounced adrenocorticotropic responses during socially salient stress.

Personality and Performance Anxiety Among Professional Orchestra Musicians

The objective of the present study was to examine the influence of personality traits and coping strategies on performance anxiety among professional orchestra musicians. The sample consisted of 122 members of six German symphony and opera orchestras. The musicians were asked to complete questionnaires measuring various personality traits. In addition, shortly before a normal rehearsal and a public performance, they also gave details about their state-coping and their present level of performance anxiety. The latter was measured by four aspects: Lack of confidence, worry, emotionality, and physical symptoms. These aspects of performance anxiety have different patterns of predicting personality traits and the patterns also differ between the rehearsal and the performance situation. Musicians suffering from performance anxiety will try all manner of strategies before a rehearsal or performance to cope with the situation, even if not all of these strategies are appropriate for reducing performance anxiety.

Emotional and Neurohumoral Responses to Dancing Tango Argentino: The Effects of Music and Partner

The present study examines the emotional and hormonal responses to tango dancing and the specific influences of the presence of music and partner on these responses. Twenty-two tango dancers were assessed within four conditions, in which the presence of music and a dance partner while dancing were varied in a 2

Does music training enhance working memory performance? Findings from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study

Instrumental music training has been shown to enhance cognitive processing beyond general intelligence. We examined this assumption with regard to working memory performance in primary school-aged children (N = 50; 7–8 years of age) within a longitudinal study design. Half of the children participated in an extended music education program with 45 minutes of weekly instrumental music training, while the other half received extended natural science training. Each child completed a computerized test battery three times over a period of 18 months. The battery included seven subtests, which address the central executive, the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad components of Baddeley’s working memory model. Socio-economic background and basic cognitive functions were assessed for each participant and used as covariates in subsequent analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Significant group by time interactions were found for phonological loop and central executive subtests, indicating a superior developmental course in children with music training compared to the control group. These results confirm previous findings concerning music training and cognitive performance. It is suggested that children receiving music training benefit specifically in those aspects of cognitive functioning that are strongly related to auditory information processing.

Neuroendocrine and Behavioral Mechanisms Mediating the Relationship between Anger Expression and Cardiovascular Risk: Assessment Considerations and Improvements

The hypothesis that intense anger experience may increase risk for or exacerbate cardiovascular diseases has been under active theoretical and empirical interest for decades. Biopsychological models of disease suggest that persons displaying exaggerated physiological responses to acute emotional or stressful states are at a greater risk to develop cardiovascular disorders. The last two decades have witnessed active work to refine means by which anger expression can be assessed, and laboratory research has produced evidence suggesting that certain expression styles may predict enhanced physiological responses to acute stress. In this paper, we review methodological and definition issues related to the assessment of anger, and we summarize recent improvements on the assessment of anger expression. We also review recent studies addressing the association between anger and cardiovascular diseases, and we present potential neuroendocrine and behavioral mechanisms through which anger expression may increase risk for cardiovascular disease.

Effects of a School-Based Instrumental Music Program on Verbal and Visual Memory in Primary School Children: A Longitudinal Study

This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children’s socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills.

Domain-specific anger expression assessment and blood pressure during rest and acute stress

Anger expression has been linked to hypertension, although assessment of anger expression has not accounted for situational influences. We predicted that anger expression style varies across social situations. Two studies assessed reported anger expression in three domains (home, work, and during free time) and compared findings to those obtained using a global assessment. Participants reported expressing anger more openly when at home and they tend to exert greater control when at work. The domain-specific assessment was also more sensitive to sex differences than the general assessment. The second study examined the influence of this domain-specific anger expression assessment on blood pressure (BP) at rest and during acute challenge. In addition to replicating the first study, the second study showed that open anger expression particularly at work was associated with elevated BP. These studies represent a first step towards improving assessment of anger expression and determining how anger might relate to hypertension risk.

Khat use and trait anger: effects on affect regulation during an acute stressful challenge.

Khat (Catha edulis) is a widely used stimulating drug often consumed in daily routine in Yemen and East African countries. Chewing khat acutely elicits states of euphoria and feelings of well-being which later shift into emotional instability and low mood. Little is known about emotional regulation in habitual khat chewers. In this study, we compared self-reports on trait anger as well as positive and negative affect responses to a mental arithmetic challenge. Participants included 135 men and women from Yemen who chew khat regularly, occasionally or not at all. Participants attended a laboratory session that involved resting periods and performing a math challenge. Analyses of variance and regression show that regular khat chewing is associated with higher trait anger, more pronounced negative responses during stress and less pronounced positive emotional states. These results suggest that regular khat chewing is associated with disturbances in emotion regulation processes.

Active coping, expression of anger, and cardiovascular reactivity

Abstract This study examined the hypothesis of a covariation of cardiovascular and emotional responses in an aversive active coping situation. A letter detection task was presented to 40 male students. From a stream of letters moving across a screen, subjects were required to eliminate a specific letter. Control was manipulated by instruction. Half the subjects were led to believe that they could avoid an aversive tone, while the other group was led to believe that they could not avoid the tone. Increases in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse transit time were consistent with the prediction of higher sympathetic cardiovascular activation during active coping. Anxiety and anger were aroused under both conditions. Only for anxiety, there was an association between the physiological and affective responses. On the level of traits, subjects tending not to express their anger revealed higher activation. The results are discussed with respect to a possible relationship between the expression of anger and different parameters of cardiovascular reactivity.