The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music

Biological significance of singing to infants

The ubiquity of maternal singing and the impact of such singing on infant attention and

arousal raise the possibility that maternal singing could have enhanced infant survival in

difficult (e.g. ancestral) conditions. To the extent that maternal singing optimizes infant

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Cortisol (nmol/l)

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Time (min)

Ta l k

Sing

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Figure 1.5 Baseline cortisol levels and cortisol levels at 20 and 25 min after the onset of singing (upper panel)
and speaking (lower panel). Error bars indicate standard errors.