title: Creative musical behavior and sex hormones: musical talent and spatial ability in the two sexes.
abstract: Creative musical behavior, musical intelligence, and spatial ability were investigated in relation to salivary testosterone (T). In a cross-sectional study with 117 adults and in an 8-yr longitudinal study with 120 adolescents, composers, instrumentalists, and nonmusicians of both sexes were compared by analyses of variance. Results indicate that an optimal T range may exist for the expression of creative musical behavior. This range may be at the bottom of normal male T range and at the top of normal female T range. In addition, musicians were found to attain significantly higher spatial test scores than nonmusicians, both, in an 8-yr-period of adolescent development and in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: University of Tübingen, Department of Clinical and Physiological Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hassler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003405:Creativity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone