Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory-emotional phenomenon in which specific sensory stimuli (“ASMR triggers”) reliably elicit feelings of relaxation and tingling sensations on the head, neck, and shoulders. However, there are individual differences in which stimuli elicit ASMR and in the intensity of these responses. In the current research, we used resting-state fMRI to examine the functional connectivity associated with these differences. Fifteen individuals with self-reported ASMR completed the ASMR Checklist, which measures sensitivity to different ASMR triggers, and a resting-state fMRI scan. Checklist scores were entered as covariates to determine whether the functional connectivity of eight resting-state networks differed as a function of participants’ sensitivity to five categories of triggers. The results indicated unique patterns of functional connectivity associated with sensitivity to each ASMR trigger category. Sensitivity to two trigger categories was positively correlated with the dorsal attention network, suggesting that ASMR may involve atypical attentional processing.

自主感觉经络反应 (ASMR) 是一种感觉-情绪现象，其中特定的感觉刺激（“ASMR 触发器”）可靠地引起头部、颈部和肩部的放松感和刺痛感。然而，引发 ASMR 的刺激和这些反应的强度存在个体差异。在当前的研究中，我们使用静息态 fMRI 来检查与这些差异相关的功能连接。有自我报告的 ASMR 的 15 个人完成了 ASMR 检查表，测量对不同 ASMR 触发器的敏感性，以及静息态 fMRI 扫描。检查表分数作为协变量输入，以确定八个静息状态网络的功能连接是否因参与者对五类触发器的敏感性而异。结果表明与每个 ASMR 触发类别的敏感性相关的功能连接的独特模式。对两个触发类别的敏感性与背侧注意网络呈正相关，表明 ASMR 可能涉及非典型注意处理。