Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

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Example of an ASMR presentation using different typical triggers

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (abbreviated ASMR ) describes the experience of a tingling, pleasant feeling on the skin (so-called tingles ); often experienced in a similar way to gentle electrostatic discharges. It typically starts on the scalp of the back of the head and moves along the neck and upper spine to the shoulder area. For most people, this feeling is associated with relaxation, reassurance, and wellbeing. ASMR helps many people fall asleep.

trigger

ASMR is often triggered by acoustic, visual and tactile sensory stimuli (so-called triggers ), more rarely also by mere personal attention and attention from another person. Typical triggers are:

  • certain noises (e.g. rubbing hands or lip noises),
  • quiet voices and soft whispers ,
  • calming hand movements or
  • light touches on the head (e.g. when washing your hair or combing your hair).

The phenomenon has hardly been researched scientifically, but has been compared to tone-touch synesthesia .

distribution

The term “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” has been spreading in the Anglo-American region since 2010 to describe this head tingling sensation. A trend arose on YouTube with video clips intended to trigger ASMR. The most famous clips have been viewed millions of times. In spring 2014 there were more than two million video clips about this phenomenon. The trend has been spreading in German-speaking countries for some time. In 2012 the first German-language media reports about this movement appeared.

Scientific research and assessment

Yale University School of Medicine neurologist Steve Novella thinks it is plausible that only some people have ASMR because people are neurologically different. He suggests a neuroscientific study of how the brains differ between those who know ASMR and a typical control group.

Tom Staford of the University of Sheffield considers it difficult to study ASMR scientifically because it is a sensation that is not experienced by everyone. He compares ASMR to synesthesia , which has long been considered a myth. Researchers found methods to scientifically measure synesthesia in the 1990s.

David Huron (Professor at the School of Music at Ohio State University) distinguishes between musical chills and ASMR. He believes that ASMR is related to the perception of safety and altruistic awareness. He believes that the ASMR effect distinct similarities with the grooming of primates has. With this form of social body care , the animals experience “a gain in pleasure bordering on euphoria from mutual grooming”, which probably offers a selective advantage due to the lower probability of parasitic infestation and all positive effects associated with strong social ties .

A June 2018 study showed that ASMR lowers heart rate while increasing skin conductivity. This serves as a sign of arousal (not sexual in nature). However, it was found that people who did not experience ASMR either before or during the study did not have any significant physical reactions. The study also shows that ASMR is not a sexual sensation, as at no time was sexual arousal seen in or mentioned by the participants. ASMR, like nostalgia , is described as a complex emotion or perception, because at first glance the opposite appearing reactions occur: relaxation and increased skin conductivity (comparable to nostalgia: happiness and sadness).

Differentiation from the "goosebumps effect"

ASMR is differentiated from physically induced goose bumps (the "chills") in that ASMR sensations can last for a long time (as long as the trigger), while physical chills last only a few seconds. Another difference between ASMR and physical chills is described as the fact that ASMR, unlike physical chills, is not accompanied by an exciting feeling, but instead has a relaxing effect.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Emma Barratt, Nick Davis: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state . In: PeerJ . tape 3 , 2015, p. e851 , doi : 10.7717 / peerj.851 , PMC 4380153 (free full text).
  2. ^ Search results "autonomous sensory meridian response" . In: National Center for Biotechnology Information . Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ Julia Simner, Catherine Mulvenna, Noam Sagiv, Elias Tsakanikos, Sarah A. Witherby, Christine Fraser, Kirsten Scott, Jamie Ward: Synaesthesia: the prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences . In: Perception . 35, No. 8, 2006, pp. 1024-1033. doi : 10.1068 / p5469 . PMID 17076063 . Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ Michael J. Banissy, Clare Jonas, Roi Cohen Kadosh: Synesthesia: an introduction . In: Frontiers in Psychology . 5, No. 1414, December 15, 2014. doi : 10.3389 / fpsyg.2014.01414 . Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  5. ^ V Wacker: Viral, contagious, pleasant: tingling videos on Youtube . In: Swiss radio and television . August 9, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  6. ^ P Denner: ASMR - the unknown feeling . In: Studentenfutter Universität Tübingen . February 14, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  7. ^ Steven Novella: ASMR . In: NeuroLogica . New England Skeptical Society. March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ Rhodri Marsden: 'Maria spends 20 minutes folding towels': Why millions are mesmerized by ASMR videos . In: The Independent , July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012. 
  9. ^ A b Sean T Collins: Why Music Gives You The Chills . In: BuzzFeed . September 10, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Giulia Lara Poerio, Emma Blakey, Thomas J. Hostler, Theresa Veltri: More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology . In: PLOS ONE . tape 13 , no. 6 , June 20, 2018, ISSN  1932-6203 , p. e0196645 , doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0196645 , PMID 29924796 , PMC 6010208 (free full text) - ( plos.org [accessed October 16, 2018]).