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. 2024 Jan 10;24(1):40.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05476-3.

Aesthetic chills mitigate maladaptive cognition in depression

Felix Schoeller #  1   2 , Abhinandan Jain #  3 , Vladimir Adrien  4   5 , Pattie Maes  3 , Nicco Reggente  6
Affiliations

Aesthetic chills mitigate maladaptive cognition in depression

Felix Schoeller et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Depression is a major global health challenge, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have limited efficacy, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests that peak emotional experiences characterized by awe, transcendence, and meaning hold promise for rapidly shifting maladaptive cognitive patterns in depression. Aesthetic chills, a peak positive emotion characterized by physical sensations such as shivers and goosebumps, may influence reward-related neural pathways and hold promise for modifying core maladaptive beliefs rooted in early adverse experiences.

Methods: We enrolled 96 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder. A validated database of multimedia known to elicit chills responses (ChillsDB) was used for stimulus presentation. Participants' emotional responses were assessed using the Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI), while shifts in self-schema were measured via the Young Positive Schema Questionnaire (YSPQ).

Results: The study found that chill-inducing stimuli have the potential to positively influence the core schema of individuals with depression, impacting areas of self-related beliefs. The associated phenomenology triggered by chills appears to share similarities with the altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelic substances like psilocybin.

Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that the biological processes involved in aesthetic chills could be harnessed as a non-pharmacological intervention for depression. However, further investigation is necessary to comprehensively understand the neurophysiological responses to chills and to evaluate the practicality, effectiveness, and safety of utilizing aesthetic chills as a preventive measure in mental health care.

Keywords: Chills; Depression; Emotion; Emotional breakthrough; Psychedelics; Schema; Shame.

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Conflict of interest statement

This research was partially financed by a Joy Ventures Research Grant and Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. In the past years, FS co-founded and received compensation from BeSound SAS and Nested Minds LLC.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
On the left, differences in emotional breakthrough across the chills and non chills conditions. On the right, chills intensity positively correlated with the emotional breakthrough
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Emotional drift in valence and arousal in chills and no chills conditions. The chills participants reported a greater drift in emotional valence and arousal, and a change from a bottom quadrant to a top quadrant, whereas the participants who did not experience chills remained in the same emotional space
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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