Brain

First published study to show brain activity during ASMR

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityI’m happy to share that I am one of the co-authors of the first published study to show brain activity during ASMR.

The study is titled, “An fMRI investigation of the neural correlates underlying the ASMR” and was published by Bryson Lochte, Sean Guillory, Craig Richard, and William Kelley in the journal BioImpacts on September 23, 2018.

One of the biggest questions about ASMR is, “What is happening in the brain?”  Although this study doesn’t fully answer that question, it is the first data to provide some direct insights.

Participants quietly layed down in fMRI machines, watched ASMR videos, and  their brains were scanned during moments of brain tingling – and then those brain images were compared to moments without brain tingling.

The brain regions that were strongly activated during ASMR were similar to those regions activated when humans, and other animals, perform soothing social behaviors – known as affiliative behaviors.  Typical examples of affiliative behaviors include calmly sitting close to each other, touching each other gently, and mutual grooming.

So how exactly was this study done?

Continue reading →

Published research study about mindfulness and ASMR

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityBeverley Fredborg, James Clark, and Stephen Smith have published another ASMR research study titled, “Mindfulness and ASMR.”  The study was published August 7, 2018 in PeerJ.

The goal of this study was to investigate the potential relationships between ASMR and mindfulness.

In their introduction, they provide these descriptions of mindfulness:

  • “…a two-component process by which one engages in both intentional self-regulation of attention and a nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of the present moment.”
  • “…involves an openness to sensations, attentional control, emotional regulation, and resilience.”

The authors then highlight the similarities between mindfulness and ASMR:

  • “…the focused attention method of mindfulness meditation requires individuals to focus on a specific external stimulus or internal thought…During ASMR experiences, individuals focus attention on an external stimulus that triggers tingling sensations.”
  • “Both mindfulness and ASMR can lead to a feeling of relaxation that enhances people’s subjective well-being.”

These similarities definitely make one wonder if mindfulness is a form of ASMR, if ASMR is a form of mindfulness, or is there some other relationship?

The authors also teased out more data about ASMR and trigger preferences, age of onset, similarity to music chills, and frequency of using ASMR media to help with relaxation and sleeping.

Continue reading →

Peer-reviewed research publications about Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)

/ Dr. Richard / Leave a comment

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityHow many peer-reviewed research publications about ASMR currently exist?  The answer is three.

I’ve created this post as a quick resource for anyone looking to learn more about these publications.

Below are the details for each publication, along with links to each publication, summaries of the data, interviews with the authors, and podcast episodes about each publication.

Continue reading →

Interview with Bev Fredborg, author of the recent research publication about ASMR and personality traits.

/ Dr. Richard / 3 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityResearchers at the University of Winnipeg in Canada have recently published their second peer-reviewed research publication about ASMR.

The paper is titled, “An Examination of Personality Traits Associated with Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)” and was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology on February 23, 2017.

The publication was authored by Beverley Fredborg, an adjunct lab member in the Embodied Emotion Laboratory, Dr. Jim Clark, the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr. Stephen Smith, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology.

I recently wrote a short article which summarized some of the findings of this new publication.

This article now brings you an explanation of their study in the words of the lead author, Beverley “Bev” Fredborg, who is also currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

Continue reading →

Peer-reviewed research publication about ASMR, personality traits, and ASMR triggers.

/ Dr. Richard / 2 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityIn 2016, Stephen Smith and Beverley Fredborg from the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada published a research paper about ASMR and brain activity (summary, interview, podcast episode).

The dynamic duo has now done it again, publishing their second research paper about ASMR.

The paper is titled, “An Examination of Personality Traits Associated with Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)” and was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology on February 23, 2017.  The article was authored by Beverley Fredborg, Jim Clark, and Stephen Smith.

The goal of the study was to investigate if ASMR is associated with specific personality traits, and they also analyzed data about the perceived intensity of specific ASMR triggers.

Continue reading →

Science of ASMR: The second peer-reviewed research publication (podcast episode #11)

/ Dr. Richard / 5 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityIn this podcast episode, I will be summarizing the second peer-reviewed research publication about ASMR and sharing an interview with the authors.

The paper is titled, “An examination of the default mode network in individuals with autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR)” and was published in the journal Social Neuroscience on May 31, 2016.  The authors are Stephen Smith, Beverley Fredborg, and Jennifer Kornelsen from the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada.

This podcast episode will cover the following topics:

  • What is fMRI?
  • What did the experiment reveal about ASMR?
  • What challenges did they encounter during this project?
  • What ASMR experiments are on their horizons?
  • and more.

Subscribe to the ASMR University Podcast to hear all of the past and future episodes or listen to this one episode right here:

Continue reading →

Meet the researchers who published the first biological study about ASMR-sensitive individuals

/ Dr. Richard / 8 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityBeverley “Bev” Fredborg recently received her B.Sc. degree in Biopsychology from the University of Winnipeg and will soon be starting a Master’s degree program in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

She is currently a research assistant with Dr. Stephen Smith, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Winnipeg.

I initially interviewed this duo in July of 2015 when they began to work together on an ASMR survey project.

And now I am fortunate to do another interview with them about their very recent and exciting ASMR research publication involving fMRI.

Continue reading →

Researchers use fMRI to publish first biological study about ASMR-sensitive individuals

/ Dr. Richard / 8 Comments

ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response UniversityIn 2015, Emma Barratt and Nick Davis published the first peer-reviewed research study about ASMR.  Their data were collected from online surveys and were very helpful to provide support about the sensations and potential applications of ASMR.

Now,  Stephen Smith, Beverley Fredborg, and Jennifer Kornelsen from the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada have published the second peer-reviewed research study about ASMR.

A key difference between these two publication is that the more recent publication by Smith et al is the first biological publication about ASMR.

Continue reading →

Update: Can the light from an ASMR video interfere with sleep?

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

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.

Continue reading →

Can the light from an ASMR video interfere with sleep?

/ Dr. Richard / 1 Comment

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?

Continue reading →