Autonomous sensory meridian response

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is an experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. It has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson. ASMR signifies the subjective experience of 'low-grade euphoria' characterized by 'a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin'. It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control. Prior to the social consensus that led to what is now the ubiquitous adoption of the term, other names were proposed and discussed at a number of locations including the Steady Health forum, the Society of Sensationalists Yahoo! group and the Unnamed Feeling Blog. Proposed formal names included 'auditory induced head orgasm', 'attention induced euphoria' and 'attention induced observant euphoria', while colloquial terms in usage included 'brain massage', 'head tingle', 'brain tingle', 'spine tingle' and 'brain orgasm'. While many colloquial and formal terms used and proposed between 2007 and 2010 included reference to orgasm, there was during that time a significant majority objection to its use among those active in on-line discussions, many of whom have continued to persist in differentiating the euphoric and relaxing nature of ASMR from sexual arousal. However, the argument for sexual arousal persists, and some proponents have published videos categorized as ASMRotica (ASMR erotica), which are deliberately designed to be sexually stimulating.