February 2016 - News!

AIRS News  

• Low-stress and high-stress singing have contrasting effects on glucocorticoid response, Daisy Fancourt, Lisa Aufegger and Aaron Williamon, Front. Psychol., 04 September 2015.  LINK
  

Performing music in public is widely recognized as a potentially stress-inducing activity. However, despite the interest in music performance as an acute psychosocial stressor, there has been relatively little research on the effects of public performance on the endocrine system. This study examined the impact of singing in a low-stress performance situation and a high-stress live concert on levels of glucocorticoids (cortisol and cortisone) in 15 professional singers. The results showed a significant decrease in both cortisol and cortisone across the low-stress condition, suggesting that singing in itself is a stress-reducing (and possibly health-promoting) activity, but significant increases across the high-stress condition. This is the first study to demonstrate that singing affects cortisol as well as cortisone responses and that these responses are modulated by the conditions of performance.

Conferences, Symposiums, Workshops     view all upcoming

• 33rd PsyArt International Conference to be held at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France, June 29-July 4, 2016.  LINK
  

• New Directions for Performance and Music Teacher Education, A Symposium on University Music Education in China, November 2-5, 2016. The Arts College of Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China.  LINK