Introduction: Changes in spontaneous electrical activity promote an increase in prostatic tone and contractility in the guinea pig prostate gland (Dey et al., 2009). These contractions are likely to be regulating the resting smooth muscle tone of the prostate gland, a major component implicated in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH); the most common neoplasm in men. BPH occurs in the transition zone (TZ), as opposed to the peripheral zone (PZ). However, the aetiology of BPH remains poorly understood, and the fundamental reason there is an increase in prostatic smooth muscle tone with age remains unknown. This study focuses on understanding the changes in basic physiology underlying the increase in prostatic tone with age, to ultimately identify a novel therapeutic target that targets the origins and underlying cellular mechanisms of spontaneous activity to potentially treat BPH. Our overall hypothesis is that age-related changes in the mechanisms regulating spontaneous activity of the prostate gland, significantly contribute to the pathogenesis of BPH. In this study, we characterised the spontaneous contractile activity in prostate specimens from 14 men. Methods: TZ and PZ specimens were obtained from consenting patients undergoing a prostatectomy. Subsequent recordings were made from prostatic preparations (3mmx10mm) using conventional tension recording experiments (Dey et al., 2010). Results: All specimens from the TZ displayed spontaneous contractions at 1.94±0.19 min-1, with an average amplitude of 0.20±0.03 N g-1 (n=14). Spontaneous contractions were abolished in 71% of TZ preparations by an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, 1μM nifedipine (n=7). Application of neurotransmission blockers, 1μM tetrodotoxin (n=5), 1μM guanethidine (n=4), and 1μM atropine (n=6), had no significant effects on frequency of spontaneous contractions in the TZ (Student’s paired t-test, P>0.05). Spontaneous contractions in the PZ were significantly more frequent at 4.64±0.49 min-1, in comparison to the frequency of spontaneous contractions at 2.09±0.41 min-1 in the TZ from the same patients (Student’s paired t-test, P<0.05, n=5). Conclusions: This study suggests that spontaneous contractions in the TZ may be myogenic in nature. Furthermore, mechanisms regulating spontaneous contractility may be zone-specific. This study provides novel insight into the basic physiology of the human prostate gland.