3 November 2018 | NewScientist | 37mode network, which is poorly understood
but known to be involved in daydreaming, and
the team found that some of the connections
in this network were weaker and others
stronger in people who experience ASMR.
“The brain, at rest, is functioning differently
in those with ASMR,” says co-author Jennifer
Kornelsen at the University of Manitoba,
Canada. She says this may help explain the
sensation: the altered connectivity may
reflect “a reduced ability or tendency to
inhibit sensory-emotional experiences”.
However, Bor is unconvinced. He says the
participants weren’t matched by personality.
“All the effects could be due to personalitydifferences,” he says. “It might not have
anything to do with the ASMR trait.”
Kornelsen says the team has since
scanned the brains of people while they are
experiencing ASMR, but the results aren’t yet
published. However, in June, Lochte’s study
finally appeared, with Richard as a co-author
(BioImpacts, vol 8, p 295). It came out under
a cloud: another author, William Kelley,
also of Dartmouth College, was investigated
for sexual misconduct, and resigned.
Lochte and his colleagues used
functional MRI to monitor brain activity
in 10 ASMR-sensitive people as they watched
videos that trigger the sensation. The scans
showed significant activation in parts of
the brain associated with reward and
emotional arousal. Similar patterns are
seen in frisson, suggesting the two sensations
are indeed related.
It is still unclear what all these findings
mean, other than that the brain of someone
who experiences ASMR seems to work
differently. But why?
It could be that this phenomenon evolved
for an evolutionary purpose, says Davis, not
least because it is so often triggered by personal
attention. “If you look at great apes being
groomed, I suspect they’re feeling something
like ASMR,” he says. “They’re receiving close
personal attention from another ape. I think
it’s a rewarding state to be in.”Richard suggested something similar in 2014:
that ASMR triggers neurological pathways
involved in emotional bonding. In line with
this, Lochte’s study found that the brain
activation sparked by ASMR was similar to
that seen in people and animals experiencing
friendly behaviour. Poerio’s volunteers also
reported greater feelings of social connection
after ASMR. Maybe it is an intense version of
the feeling we all get when loved ones tend to
us – and videos can be a shortcut to it.Genuine benefits
But others have doubts, arguing that the brain
sometimes just does odd things. “Why should
some visual stimulus cause head tingling?”
asks Bor. “I can’t see any evolutionary purpose
for that whatsoever.”
Regardless of any explanation, the benefits
seem genuine. Barratt “really didn’t expect
ASMR to be therapeutically applicable”,
but she and Davis found otherwise in 2014.
“People showed this amazing elevation in
mood during ASMR, but also that mood
elevation persists for a few hours after,” says
Davis. “It makes you happier when you’re
doing it and it keeps you happy.”
What’s more, those who were generally less
happy showed a greater change. “People who
are quite down are using ASMR to improve
their mood,” says Davis. “People with chronic
pain were using it, I don’t want to say to treat,
but at least to distract from the pain.” For those
who can, ASMR may be a simple way to relieve
pain and stabilise mood.
Poerio’s June study backs this up. A lower
heart rate implies people are less stressed
and more relaxed. When it comes to pain
relief, it could be that the sensation of ASMR
overpowers or distracts from the pain
temporarily, or relaxation and improved mood
might help with the pain. “It shows there’s a
physiological benefit,” she says. Heart rates fell
by 3.1 beats per minute during ASMR, which
was similar to the effects of music-induced
relaxation for people with cardiovascular
disease. It is early days, but “our research would
support this idea that potentially it could be
used for therapeutic benefit”, she says.
So even though I still don’t fully understand
why I experience ASMR, I feel I was dealt a
lucky hand. I have a mental trick that lets me
pick up my mood if I’m feeling low or stressed.
With the world going to hell in a handcart,
that’s a handy thing to have. ■Michael Marshall is a freelance writer
based in Devon, UKMONICA FECKE/GETTY
ROY TOFT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION