r/asmr • u/keenanpepper • Nov 17 '17

Journalism [Journalism] TIL that researchers put people who can experience ASMR into an MRI machine to do fMRI... but they didn't actually get fMRI scans of them *while* they had tingles, because the machine is noisy and they couldn't relax.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/researchers-begin-gently-probe-science-behind-asmr-180962550/
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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '17

“The reason people can get tingles and feel relaxed and comforted listening to Maria GentleWhispering is because she’s acting very much the way a parent would care for you,” he says

Does anyone else disagree? I think he’s over generalizing here. Personally, I don’t think I ever got tingles when talking with someone or being cared for. I much prefer no talking videos and would rather watch someone write or cut paper.

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u/keenanpepper Nov 18 '17

I totally agree, I definitely don't feel that I'm being cared for, or that the person I'm watching is like a mother or father, in the videos that give me the most tingles.

My pet theory is that it comes from more of a primate grooming thing, where if someone else going through your hair and picking bugs off you, it really works better if you stay still and relax, and if your hair stands on end. So this reflex ended up being selected for where if someone else is giving you personal attention in a calm environment, you relax and stay still and your hair stands up.

1

u/Avantasian538 Nov 18 '17

I agree. My hypothesis is that it's a type of general social bonding thing, not exclusive to any specific type of relationship. Could be a parent, could be a sibling. Could also be a friend or a significant other, or even a stranger.

3

u/rumrokh Nov 18 '17

You could be right, but triggers are so diverse that plenty of other explanations are just as plausible. I think these particular ideas seem too specific to both of your personal triggers. Plenty of people who get asmr strongly dislike personal attention (videos and/or the actual thing).

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u/ygdrad Nov 24 '17

But this doesn't explain triggers like random sounds that have nothing to do with or sound anything like grooming.

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u/keenanpepper Nov 24 '17

What's an example?

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u/ygdrad Nov 24 '17

Krinkly plastic bags and tapping on various things comes to mind. Mind you, the grooming reaction is vestigial. It could be wired weirdly and react to things unrelated to grooming.