From touch to tingles: Assessing ASMR triggers and their consistency over time with the ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC).

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a term describing a complex sensory-perceptual phenomena characterised by relaxing and pleasurable scalp tingling sensations. A central defining feature of ASMR is that the sensation is elicited by a core set of stimuli or so-called "triggers". The idea that ASMR is triggered by specific external stimuli is frequently invoked in conceptual definitions of ASMR and implicit in its operationalisation as a trait and state; however, it is rarely explicitly measured. In this paper, we present the 37-item ASMR Trigger Checklist (ATC), a new tool to assist researchers in ASMR-responder identification and to capture individual differences in the number and intensity of ASMR triggers across auditory (vocal, non-vocal), visual, and tactile/interpersonal stimulus domains. The ATC is related to existing measures of trait-ASMR that tap into the sensations and phenomenological aspects of the experience (ASMR-15 and AEQ) and provides a complementary assessment for researchers interested in common ASMR elicitors. Importantly, the ATC addresses concerns regarding the over-reliance of audio-visual ASMR stimuli in existing measures and conceptualisations of ASMR by emphasising tactile and interpersonal stimuli. Physical touch to the body was both the most endorsed (98%) and intense (average 5/6) ASMR trigger. 24 of the 37 ATC items were endorsed by 75% of the sample and might therefore be considered prototypical ASMR triggers. The ATC has appropriate convergent validity through its association with other individual differences known to be related to ASMR (e.g., absorption, openness to experience, aesthetic experiences). Re-administration of the ATC after 5 months showed high consistency in reports of ASMR triggers with 84% of endorsements remaining the same over time. We hope that the ATC will prove a useful tool for researchers in participant selection and recruitment as well as for measuring individual differences within the ASMR population.

Touching you, touching me: Higher incidence of mirror-touch synaesthesia and positive (but not negative) reactions to social touch in Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

The characterisation of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) as an audio-visual phenomenon overlooks how tactile experiences are not just perceptual concurrents of ASMR (i.e., tingling) but also commonly strong ASMR inducers. Here we systematically investigated whether ASMR-responders show altered tactile processing compared to controls. Using a screening measure of vicarious touch with a predefined cut-off for mirror-touch synaesthesia (MTS; a condition where tactile sensations are experienced when viewing, but not receiving, touch), we found that ASMR-responders had more frequent and intense vicarious touch experiences, as well as a strikingly higher incidence of MTS, than non-responders. ASMR-responders also reported greater reactivity to positive, but not negative, interpersonal touch. Correlations further showed these patterns to be more prevalent in those responders with stronger ASMR. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of heightened sensory sensitivity, bodily awareness, and the underlying neuro-cognitive mechanisms driving vicarious tactile perception in ASMR and MTS.