2024-07-21 16:35:09
But what exactly is ASMR and how does it work? And can everyone experience ASMR?
ASMR stands for “autonomic sensory meridian response”. autonomous sensory meridian response). This term, which in 2010 invented by Jennifer Allenwho later founded online ASMR forums, refers to a spontaneous (or automatic) sensation caused by some stimulus.
According to Giulia Poer, a psychologist at the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), the phenomenon itself can work differently for different people. However, most researchers and listeners agree that ASMR has two main components: a tingling or “sparkling” sensation that starts in the head and then travels down the spine – and a feeling of euphoria and relaxation.
“It’s like stroking your hair,” Poerio says. ASMR is also a little like the shivers some people get when listening to music, she said. But music-induced chills can make the heart beat faster and the hair stand on end—and ASMR typically lowers a person’s heart rate and slows their breathing.
People experience ASMR in response to various forms of stimuli. ‘ASMRtists’ who whisper into microphones and poke their fingers are particularly popular on YouTube. But in addition to auditory stimuli, ASMR can also be triggered by tactile sensations, such as someone gently brushing your hair, Poer said.
But a whispering video or comforting touch alone is not enough to trigger ASMR. Generally, people need to feel calm and safe in their environment for the sensation to materialize, says Craig Richard, a physiologist at Shenandoah University in the US and founder of the ASMR University information site.
Sometimes ASMR creators achieve this by creating a sense of familiarity with their audience, says Richard, who has also written a book and produces a podcast about ASMR. in 2018 in the study conducted he and his colleagues proposed that many ASMR stimuli involve “affiliative behavior,” that is, caring behavior exchanged between people in close interpersonal relationships—for example, friends, parents and children, and romantic partners.
“If you watch almost any of the most popular ASMR videos, there’s someone pretending to know you very well,” says Richard. “It kind of tricks your brain into thinking that someone you know and feel good about is giving you positive personal attention.”
Richard says the phenomenon may be caused by a mixture of neurotransmitters, the nervous system’s chemical messengers, although scientists are still trying to confirm the exact mechanism by which ASMR works.
in 2018 In a study, researchers found that certain areas of the brain become more active when people experience ASMR. They saw this using a functional MRI scan, which indirectly measures brain activity by monitoring blood flow through an organ.
A part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) lit up on a monitor when people experienced relaxation or tingling sensations while watching ASMR videos. The mPFC is involved in a number of functions, including processing and directing social behavior, such as courtship. This may explain why gentle touch and caring interactions are common ASMR triggers. Oxytocin, a neurotransmitter and hormone associated with relaxation and social connection, binds to receptors in the mPFC and may therefore be involved in the relaxation induced by ASMR.
Another part of the brain called nucleus accumbens, also lit up – when study participants experienced brain tingling. This area of the brain helps guide motivated behavior driven by reward and satisfaction—and it becomes more active when when people experience music-induced chills. Although ASMR and musical shivers don’t feel exactly the same, they may occur via a similar pathway, Richards and his co-authors theorize.
But not everyone experiences ASMR—and researchers are still trying to understand why.
“It probably has a neural basis related to brain formation and earlier development,” says Poerio. Some studies have shown [1, 2]that people with certain personality traits — such as neuroticism or openness to new experiences — are more likely to experience ASMR than those without these traits.
However, for some, it may be that they simply haven’t found the right ASMR trigger yet.
“Some say it took them 100 ASMR videos to find the trigger that worked for them,” says Richard. On the other hand, some people never experience ASMR while watching videos, he notes — but something in the real world can trigger the sensation.
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2024-07-21 16:35:09