The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference
BackgroundAutonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory response such as tingling and pleasantness from audiovisual stimuli. ASMR videos come in a wide variety of types, and personal preferences are biased. There are many reports of the effects os ASMR on sleep onset, anxiety relief, and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1249176/full |
| _version_ | 1797404615901184000 |
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| author | Noriko Sakurai Kazuaki Nagasaka Kei Sasaki Yukina Yuguchi Shingo Takahashi Satoshi Kasai Hideaki Onishi Naoki Kodama |
| author_facet | Noriko Sakurai Kazuaki Nagasaka Kei Sasaki Yukina Yuguchi Shingo Takahashi Satoshi Kasai Hideaki Onishi Naoki Kodama |
| author_sort | Noriko Sakurai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundAutonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory response such as tingling and pleasantness from audiovisual stimuli. ASMR videos come in a wide variety of types, and personal preferences are biased. There are many reports of the effects os ASMR on sleep onset, anxiety relief, and other relaxation effects. However, prior task-oriented studies have used ASMR videos provided by the experimenter. We hypothesized that ASMR movies of a personal preference would show significantly increased activity in the nucleus accumbens, frontal cortex, and insular cortex, which are brain areas associated with relaxation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate the neuroscientific basis for the relaxation effects of ASMR videos that match someone’s personal preferences.MethodsThis study included 30 healthy individuals aged ≥18 years. ASMR enthusiasts were included as the target population due to the need to have a clear preference for ASMR videos. A control video (1 type) and ASMR videos (20 types) were used as the stimulus tasks. Among the ASMR videos, those with high and low evaluation scores were considered liked and dislikedASMR videos, respectively. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while the participants viewed a block design with a resting task in between. The data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 to identify the areas activated by control, disliked, and liked ASMR videos.ResultsEmotion-related areas (the amygdala, frontal cortex, and insular cortex) not activated by control and unliked ASMR videos were activated only by liked ASMR videos.ConclusionThe amygdala, frontal cortex, and insular cortex may be involved in the limbic dopamine circuits of the amygdala and middle frontal gyrus and the autonomic balance of the left and right insular cortices. This suggests the potential of positive mood and its use as a treatment for patients with anxiety and depression. These results suggest that the use of ASMR videos to match individual preferences may induce relaxation and have beneficial effects on depression and other disorders, and also support the introduction of ASMR videos in mental health care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:57:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb10ff1dfde14e209dcbf47af6b60ffe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:57:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb10ff1dfde14e209dcbf47af6b60ffe2023-12-05T04:15:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612023-12-011710.3389/fnhum.2023.12491761249176The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preferenceNoriko Sakurai0Kazuaki Nagasaka1Kei Sasaki2Yukina Yuguchi3Shingo Takahashi4Satoshi Kasai5Hideaki Onishi6Naoki Kodama7Department of Radiological Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanGraduate School of Health and Welfare, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanGraduate School of Health and Welfare, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Healthcare Informatics, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Gunma, JapanDepartment of Radiological Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Radiological Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanBackgroundAutonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory response such as tingling and pleasantness from audiovisual stimuli. ASMR videos come in a wide variety of types, and personal preferences are biased. There are many reports of the effects os ASMR on sleep onset, anxiety relief, and other relaxation effects. However, prior task-oriented studies have used ASMR videos provided by the experimenter. We hypothesized that ASMR movies of a personal preference would show significantly increased activity in the nucleus accumbens, frontal cortex, and insular cortex, which are brain areas associated with relaxation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate the neuroscientific basis for the relaxation effects of ASMR videos that match someone’s personal preferences.MethodsThis study included 30 healthy individuals aged ≥18 years. ASMR enthusiasts were included as the target population due to the need to have a clear preference for ASMR videos. A control video (1 type) and ASMR videos (20 types) were used as the stimulus tasks. Among the ASMR videos, those with high and low evaluation scores were considered liked and dislikedASMR videos, respectively. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while the participants viewed a block design with a resting task in between. The data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 to identify the areas activated by control, disliked, and liked ASMR videos.ResultsEmotion-related areas (the amygdala, frontal cortex, and insular cortex) not activated by control and unliked ASMR videos were activated only by liked ASMR videos.ConclusionThe amygdala, frontal cortex, and insular cortex may be involved in the limbic dopamine circuits of the amygdala and middle frontal gyrus and the autonomic balance of the left and right insular cortices. This suggests the potential of positive mood and its use as a treatment for patients with anxiety and depression. These results suggest that the use of ASMR videos to match individual preferences may induce relaxation and have beneficial effects on depression and other disorders, and also support the introduction of ASMR videos in mental health care.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1249176/fullASMRinsular corticesamygdalarelaxationfMRI |
| spellingShingle | Noriko Sakurai Kazuaki Nagasaka Kei Sasaki Yukina Yuguchi Shingo Takahashi Satoshi Kasai Hideaki Onishi Naoki Kodama The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ASMR insular cortices amygdala relaxation fMRI |
| title | The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| title_full | The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| title_fullStr | The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| title_short | The relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| title_sort | relaxation effect of autonomous sensory meridian response depends on personal preference |
| topic | ASMR insular cortices amygdala relaxation fMRI |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1249176/full |
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