Aesthetics Versus Ethics: Is There Good and Evil in Music?

A balanced and informed approach to the topic must take into account the dynamic character of the musical experience. Musical meaning cannot be attached to isolated elements of the musical language, such as an instrument, a chord, a melody, or a rhythmic pattern. Those elements are neutral in themselves. However, music does affect us strongly when it acquires meaning within an event, an experience. When melodies, chords, rhythms, and harmonies are combined together, they are given a specific meaning within a particular cultural setting and are, then, interpreted as happy or sad, elevating or debasing

Hormonal Responses to Seasonal Thermal and Ecological Stressors in Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Relative to most primate species, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) experience extreme seasonal variation in thermal and ecological stressors that can impact energetic demands. To cope with these environmental changes, levels of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol and triiodothyronine, fluctuate to facilitate energetic adjustments. While previous research in primates has investigated thermal and ecological stressors individually, a combined assessment of these stressors alongside hormone levels can provide a more holistic understanding of the relationship between a primate’s thermoregulation, energetic balance, and stress. The goals of this study were to determine the effects of season, temperature and ecological stress on cortisol levels in Japanese macaques, as well as assess the relationship between cortisol and freely circulating triiodothyronine (fT3). Fecal samples were collected at Kyoto University Primate Research Institute (KUPRI) on semi-free ranging Japanese macaques and tested for cortisol and fT3 levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Japanese macaques did not show a significant difference in cortisol levels between seasons, although winter cortisol levels were marginally higher. During summer, there was not a significant effect of daily temperature on cortisol levels. However, in the winter, macaques showed a consistent negative relationship between cortisol levels and daily maximum temperatures. While this indicates that cortisol levels increased as maximum temperatures became colder, there was not a significant correlation with mean or minimum daily temperatures. Using activity levels as a proxy for ecological stress, there were no significant effects of mean daily group activity on cortisol levels during either season. However, there was a significant and strong positive relationship between fT3 and cortisol levels during both summer and winter seasons, with cortisol levels increasing in conjunction with fT3. Contrary to predictions, there was not a seasonal pattern in cortisol levels, although these data provide partial evidence that thermal stress can impact cortisol levels on a daily scale. Animals were provisioned foods, which may have reduced the intensity of ecological stress, possibly dampening seasonal impacts on cortisol levels. Despite these mixed results, the strong relationship between fT3 and cortisol may suggest that animals modulate metabolic hormones in a coordinated manner to cope with changing energetic needs

Body Fat is Associated with Decreased Endocrine and Cognitive Resilience to Acute Emotional Stress

*Objective:* Cortisol is elevated both in individuals with increased emotional stress as well as with higher percentages of body fat. Cortisol is also known to affect cognitive performance, particularly spatial processing, selective attention, and working memory. We hypothesized that increased body fat might therefore be associated with decreased performance on a spatial processing task, in response to an acute real-world stressor. 

*Design:* We tested two separate samples of subjects undergoing their first (tandem) skydive. In the first sample (N=78), subjects were tested for salivary cortisol and state-anxiety (Spielberger State Anxiety Scale) during the plane's fifteen-minute ascent to altitude in immediate anticipation of the jump. In a second sample (N=20), subjects were tested for salivary cortisol, as well as cardiac variables (heart rate, autonomic regulation via heart rate variability) and performance on a cognitive task of spatial processing, selective attention, and working memory. 

*Results:* In response to the skydive, individuals with greater body fat percentages showed significantly increased reactivity for both cortisol (on both samples) and cognition, including decreased accuracy of our task of spatial processing, selective attention, and working memory. These cognitive effects were restricted to the stress response and were not found under baseline conditions. There were no body fat interactions with cardiac changes in response to the stressor, suggesting that the cognitive effects were specifically hormone-mediated rather than secondary to general activation of the autonomic nervous system. 

*Conclusions:* Our results indicate that, under real-world stress, increased body fat may be associated with endocrine stress-vulnerability, with consequences for deleterious cognitive performance