The Tanturi Effect

Does The Tanturi Campos Effect Exist ? If so , is it confined to Tanturi or is it a generalized phenomenon ?

Have you ever wondered why dancing tango can feel so good ? Why so many people are addicted to it and not necessarily know why ? I myself have felt better dancing some great tandas after a bad or stressful day . I have always felt the healing power of a milonga where the energy flows and the people move in their warm embraces to the harmony , melody and rhythm of the great golden age tango orchestras . I wanted to know if there is a scientific basis to this global phenomenon that might explain the ” feel good ” effect of dancing tango at the level of the brain . So I wondered about a possible Tanturi Effect .
The healing power of music has long been recognized and goes as far as the ancient Greeks . Pythagoras recognized how people were moved by consonant sounds . Harmonic music was able to soothe people and cure ailments of the spirit , body and soul . In the Republic , Plato declared that rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul .
Recently , the Mozart Efect gained world wide popularity as the scientific community examined the intelligence enhancing effect of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K.448. Some people have questioned whether the Mozart Effect truly exists and whether the effect is merely a mood modifying phenomenon common to other types of music .
There is no doubt however , as evidenced by neuroscience , that music affects specific areas of the brain resulting in neuroendocrine and psychoimmunological changes with great potential benefits to human health at physical , mental as well as spiritual levels . Research has shown that listening to music lowers the secretion of cortisol responsible for the stress response and improves mood . By affecting specific regions and pathways in the brain , some have even shown that music can act at the cellular and molecular level facilitating neurogenesis (repair and regeneration of cerebral nerves) .
Neuroplasticity or the ability of the brain to change itself has been linked to music as well . Listening to pleasurable , harmonic music evokes emotions which are accompanied by physiological reactions which decrease the stress response such as decreased heart and respiratory rates , blood pressure and diminution of hormone secretions involved in the stress response .
Chronic stress has been strongly associated with the development of many chronic diseases such as heart disease and hypertension , diabetes and cancer .
If you are wondering what all this has to do with Tanturi Campos , I would like to illustrate that it has a lot to do with it and even more . I have chosen Tanturi Campos as an example , not as a specific , as it was thought to be with the Mozart Sonata 448 in influencing the cognitive abilities of the brain . I would like to propose that Tanturi Campos is an example of a potent vaccine that has the power to protect from the chronic stress response that causes the many ailments of our society at the physical , mental, emotional and spiritual realms . Imagine the human stress response similar to a virus causing disease and Tanturi Campos , the vaccine against the virus. The Tanturi Campos effect , as I like to call it , has three powerful ingredients that make up the vaccine . Let’s imagine the following scenario: You had a stressful day at work or experienced some kind of daily conflict which caused your stress response to be activated , i.e. your heart rate is increased , your breathing is shallow and rapid , your cortisol levels are up causing your immune system to be vulnerable and that you feel you might be coming up with a bad cold. So you decide to attend a milonga and asyou reach the venue , the DJ happens to be playing Una Emocion de Tanturi Campos.
The beautifully melodic yet rhythmic music of Tanturi with the divine soothing voice of Enrique Campos suddenly eases your heart rate , decreases your blood pressure and you start to breathe better . You suddenly put your tango shoes on and make eye contact with a familiar face to catch the second song of the tanda. You meet on the edge of the dance floor , approach and embrace . You start feeling the warm embrace and within 20 seconds , you release a surge of oxytocin . As your body moves harmonically , rhythmically and melodically in that warm hug you both created , you release further oxytocin which attach to the oxytocin receptors in your amygdala ( a part of the brain limbic system strongly involved in the emotions) which in turn activates neuronal pathways that in no time put a damper on the previously activated Hypothalamic _Pituitary_Adrenal Axis ( the structures involved in the stress response ) thus resulting in a homeostasis or balance of your whole being all the way to the level of your cells . This is what I call the Tanturi Campos Effect . Perhaps , we can call it The Oxytocin Effect , the hormone released when a baby nurses the mother , the one responsible when you make love to your partner , the one released when you hug and pet your dog , when you hug others whom you trust such as your friends and members of your family or even strangers who you feel you can trust by intuition , the hormone released when you receive a massage , dance and when you pray . Oxytocin has also been labeled as the hormone of morality , empathy and trust .
A study published in The Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine examined the effects of partner support on resting oxytocin , cortisol , norepinephrine and blood pressure before and after warm partner contact and found that lack of intimate contact is associated with greater sympathetic system activation which is linked to greater risk of cardiovascular disease .
The Oxytocin System (OT) operates in all mammalian species . Recent advances in the study of affiliation in mammals suggests that the OT system , which is uniquely responsive to the social environment , operates in parallel with known stress response systems both to bring about “calm and connection” effects in response to positive social cues , and inhibits sympathetic and hypothalamic_pituitary_adrenal (HPA) activity after stress.
So does the Tanturi Effects exists ? I believe it absolutely does and operates through its three major ingredients : Music , Embrace and Dance . So don’t miss out on this potent vaccine that has absolutely no adverse side effects . As we say in Tango Soul : Embrace and Walk in Rhythm to the Music and I shall add to this mantra : Keep Calm and Release Oxytocin

Gerard Derminasyan