Glossary
anticipatory tingles An ASMR term to describe the sensation people can achieve while waiting for the next trigger and not knowing when it will come or what it will be.
ascetic Someone who practices severe self-discipline and abstention for religious or philosophical purposes.
ASMR immunity A term used to describe people’s sudden inability to experience the ASMR sensation when watching or listening to their favorite content.
ASMRtist Someone who creates ASMR content in the hopes it will trigger tingles in another person.
autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) A perceptual phenomenon characterized by a tingly feeling in the brain or scalp, which is caused by the experience or suggestion of external stimuli.
bedside manner The traditional way of referring to how a doctor interacts with her patient. It also refers to the caring way in which ASMRtists interact with their viewers.
bilateral stimulation A process in which someone uses visual, auditory, or tactile stimuli in a side-to-side pattern for therapeutic purposes.
binaural beats A sound therapy practice in which two different impulses are played in opposite ears in order to produce a third “beat” in the brain that encourages a change in brain wave state.
biofeedback A technique designed to enhance personal awareness and control over a person’s physiological and psychological states.
braingasm The term given to the tingle release that occurs during an ASMR experience, even though it is not sexual in nature.
chroma key photography The process of removing a solid color in order to replace it with any other image of the photographer’s choice. It is usually done using a green or blue screen.
empathy The way in which individuals project their senses onto another experience in order to understand it on a cognitive level.
eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) A nontraditional branch of psychotherapy that uses traditional talk therapy and bilateral stimulation to help individuals cope with a traumatic experience.
hypnic myclonia A sudden muscle contraction that occurs during the first stage of sleep and is typically preceded by a sensation of falling. It is similar to the jump that occurs when someone is startled.
hypnosis The induction of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion or direction.
inner child The aspect of a person’s psyche and consciousness that is connected to and retains the feelings and carefree emotions of the past.
insomnia A disorder characterized by a person’s inability to go to sleep or stay asleep at night. It is usually diagnosed by a clinician because it compromises the work, education, health, and/or relationships of the individual.
lucid dream Any dream in which an individual knows that she is dreaming.
mantra A sacred syllable, word, or phrase that is chanted in meditative practices and believed to have spiritual, psychological, or healing power.
meditation The act or process of spending time in quiet contemplation.
mirror neurons Brain cells that cause people to respond equally to a particular action whether they are performing that action themselves or watching it be performed by someone else.
misophonia The hatred of sound as a result of a condition known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome.
monetization The way in which ASMRtists earn an income by allowing ads to appear on their channels.
neuroacoustics A field of study that involves the direct application of precise sound applications in hopes of encouraging a physiological response.
neurotransmitters The brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body and relay signals between nerve cells called neurons.
nightmare A dream that occurs during the REM stage of sleep and evokes feelings of discomfort, fear, distress, and anxiety. It typically occurs in the latter part of the sleep state and tends to awaken the sleeper, who is able to recall various details of the dream.
nirvana A peaceful state of mind that is free of ignorance, hatred, greed, and other desecrations.
posthypnotic suggestion A suggestion made to a hypnotized person that specifies an action to be performed after returning to a normal state of consciousness, often in response to a trigger or cue. For example, if a hypnotist is helping someone get a more restful sleep, he might say “You will sleep peacefully with pleasant dreams.”
presentation The art of modifying, processing, arranging, or decorating something in such a way as to enhance its visual appeal.
psychophysiological Refers to the combination of the mental and physical processes.
rendering The process of calculating special effects into an editing program in order to produce the final product.
role-play An artificial scenario designed to re-create a real or imagined situation.
self-noise Refers to the background noise picked up by a microphone, such as hums, hisses, and other distractions.
stress The physical and emotional reaction to the changes and challenges that affect individuals on a daily basis.
tactile-acoustic trigger A touch-based sensation that results in a pleasurable sound (for example, popping bubble wrap, tapping fingers, clicking blocks together, shuffling cards, and so on).
telomerase The enzyme that can repair the damage stress causes to the telomere, lengthen it, and slow the aging process.
telomeres Genetic structures that serve as an end cap on the chromosomes and shorten as people age.
thermistor A device used for measuring body temperature as it applies to an individual’s stress level.
tingle head A colloquial name for someone who experiences ASMR.
trigger The stimulus that causes the ASMR feeling to occur.
tripod A three-legged stabilizer that attaches to the camera so the photographer does not shake the image while he is filming.
troll Someone who uses the anonymity of cyberspace to start arguments and spread discord online. Trolls are similar to haters, who tend to be a little more malicious in their intentions.
visual trigger A stimulus that can lead to an ASMR episode when someone stares at it for a period of time.
vlog A video diary similar to its online written counterpart, the blog.
whisper A pronounced means of communication that is emitted through the mouth but does not require the vocal chords to vibrate.
white noise A collection of sound vibrations that contain all known frequencies and result in a pitchless nothingness, which is used to mask other sounds.