Dr. Amanda Dettmer has her Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior.
She has been studying the mother-infant bond in rhesus monkeys for over 10 years.
I asked Dr. Dettmer some questions about animal behavior and ASMR.
She did a terrific job of summarizing her knowledge, experiences, and research in primatology and applying it to ASMR.
Dr. Dettmer even suggests some simple experiments that could help to identify the biology of ASMR.
Below are my questions in bold, followed by her replies in italics.
Relaxing music and ASMR triggers have their similarities and their differences.
Similarities include: both can induce relaxation, both have strong auditory component, and both can induce a type of chills or tingles.
Differences include: music is almost all auditory (vibrations can be another sensory input method), the type of chills induced are slightly different, and music may have a stronger emotional component.
And then there is the biggest difference of them all.
Update:
A research study came out this week that is relevant to one of my prior posts (pasted in below).
This research supports the concern that the light from an electronic device can interfere with sleep.
The study is published in PNAS, a well respected journal.
The authors showed that reading from an iPad (compared to a printed book) increased the time it took to fall asleep, reduced melatonin secretion, and reduced morning alertness.
Click HERE to access the research abstract.
An article about ASMR was posted yesterday at BBC.com.
The article focuses mostly on ASMR artists (Emma whispersredasmr, Maria gentlewhispering, & Laura Stone) and the art of ASMR, with some minor mentions related to the science of ASMR.
A neuroscience professor provided his thoughts about the mechanism of ASMR. Quote from the article:
“Frances McGlone, professor of neuroscience at Liverpool John Moores University. I contacted him because I hoped he might be able to explain the mechanism which produces such a distinctive physical reaction from such a diverse range of stimuli. He couldn’t, because no-one has researched the question. “In a quick look on the more respected search engines for published scientific research I couldn’t find anything that supported a neurobiological basis for why these sensory experiences should be provoked by observing these ASMR videos,” he tells me.
McGlone further expressed concern about home-brewed alternative therapies in general and a potential erotic element of ASMR. Quote from the article:
Interested in participating in some ASMR research?
I am collaborating with members of asmr-research.org on an on-line survey that may be the first published, global, demographic study about ASMR.
The survey is not only for those who experience ASMR, but it also for those who don’t experience ASMR or may not even know if they do experience ASMR. Comparing these different groups of people will help us to understand ASMR even better.
Using a laptop, tablet, or phone at bedtime is pretty common these days. And watching an ASMR video to help relax the brain before nodding off is becoming even more common.
But there could be a problem with this method of relaxation.
Several studies have shown that being exposed to light from a computer screen at bedtime can interfere with sleep onset and/or sleep quality.
So how do computer screens interfere with sleep?
If someone wanted to measure oxytocin levels during an ASMR experience, or compare oxytocin levels in individuals that do experience ASMR vs individuals that don’t experience ASMR – how would that be done?
There are two methods for directly measuring oxytocin.
The first method would be to measure the oxytocin in a person’s brain and spinal fluid. The upside of this method is that these levels are probably most accurate for any effects oxytocin may be having on behavior. The downside of this method, as you might have guessed, are the safety issues and expenses with doing this.
The second method would be to measure the oxytocin in a person’s blood. The upside of this second method is increased safety and decreased costs compared to trying to access someone’s brain and spinal fluid. The downside of this second method is that it is not known if the oxytocin measured in someone’s blood is an accurate reflection of the oxytocin in someone’s brain and spinal fluid.
Until now.
A recent research study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry has determined if blood levels of oxytocin are an accurate measurement of brain and spinal fluid levels of oxytocin.
The study also looked to see if the levels of oxytocin were associated with anxiety.
What did they find?
I wrote a recent post about the potential involvement of the neurotransmitter GABA in ASMR.
Well, some scientists have recently published a study which has determined that GABA is responsible for deep sleep.
This means that if ASMR does raise GABA levels, then this neurotransmitter may help to explain how ASMR helps individuals to fall asleep and/or attain a deeper, more satisfying sleep.
The study was published in Nature Neuroscience, which validates the quality and importance of the research.
It is not a real surprise that GABA is involved in sleep. It has been known for a while that GABA is very good at getting neurons to quiet down.
So what did this study specifically determine?
ASMR and hypnosis have a lot of similarities.
The process for both can involve eye gazing, soft and almost monotonous vocal tones, methodical sounds, significant trust, and rhythmic movements of hands or objects.
The outcome for both involves being relaxed. ASMR is a lower level state of relaxation and hypnosis is a deeper state of relaxation.
The person inducing the relaxation in both situations is often a real or simulated expert, giving focused one-on-one attention, with a trustworthy disposition and a non-threatening nature.
Overall, it would seem likely that anything known about the biology of hypnosis may be relevant to the biology of ASMR.
So what is known about the biology of hypnosis?
A recently published article highlights one molecule that is probably involved in hypnosis, and it is a molecule that I have also theorized is central to ASMR (see my Origin Theory of ASMR for full details).
The title of the article reveals the molecule, “Hypnosis, attachment, and oxytocin”.
It has been widely reported that many individuals find ASMR helpful to reducing their anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
If there was one neurotransmitter that was known to reduce all three of these disorders then it might be appropriate to theorize the involvement of that neurotransmitter in ASMR.
Well, the neurotransmitter gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) may be a terrific candidate.
GABA is a neurotransmitter that is widely released throughout the brain. It is well understood to have an inhibitory effect on most neurons. Another way to view this is that GABA tends to calm, comfort, and soothe other neurons.
Is GABA involved in treating anxiety disorders? Yes. Drugs like Xanax and Valium are benzodiazepines which are anti-anxiety medications. These kind of drugs reduce anxiety by enhancing the effect of the patient’s natural amounts of GABA.
Is GABA involved in treating sleep disorders? Yes. Benzodiazepines are also widely used to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders.
So are benzodiazepines widely used for depression? No. The most common type of medication used to treat depression are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs increase the amount of the patient’s natural amount of serotonin.
So GABA has not been viewed strongly as being involved in the therapeutic role of SSRIs for depression.
But a recent research publication in the journal Science challenges that view.
ASMR University 