Seems great! But, how does it work?
Great question! We get this one a lot because so much of what we do seems like magic! But we promise the science behind Immersion is founded on decades of peer-reviewed research. What may look simple or too good to be true has been a long time in the making. Let us walk you through the fundamental pillars of immersion!
Let's start at the beginning
Immersion indirectly measures an individual's levels of oxytocin and dopamine in the brain (two of the most important neurochemicals that drive trust and connection!). We do so by tracking second-by-second changes in your cardiac rhythm. It's not about your heart rate or how fast or slow your heart is beating - knowing you have a heart rate of 65 bpm tells us nothing about the brain - rather, it's about the small nuanced changes that happen second-by-second over time. Our algorithms are designed to look for distinct patterns of change that tell us these chemicals have been released! Furthermore, our research established these chemicals as key signals that an experience will motivate actions... or not. Yeah... we were excited too!
Want to learn more about the original research team? Learn more about where we started at Claremont Graduate University here!
Or... don't just take our word for it, check out some of the peer-reviewed work published on the connection between these neurochemicals and social behaviors like trustworthiness, generosity, and charitable giving:
Oxytocin increases trust in humans (Kosfeld et al., 2005)
Oxytocin increases generosity in humans (Zak et al., 2007)
Empathy toward strangers triggers oxytocin release and subsequent generosity (Barraza & Zak, 2009)
Oxytocin infusion increases charitable donations regardless of monetary resources (Barraza et al., 2011)
Blending oxytocin and dopamine with everyday creativity (Chong et al., 2021)
Connecting the brain and the heart
Let's start with Oxytocin. There is a significant concentration of oxytocin receptors in the heart, and many studies have shown the role of oxytocin on cardiac modulation - check out this publication by Gutkowska & Jankowski (2012) to learn more! Using this research, these subtle changes in the heart's rhythm have been linked to oxytocin levels in an individual's blood. This change in heart rhythm data, collected by everyday PPG sensors, is then run through our proprietary algorithm, and out comes the immersion metric you see on the platform.
Now let's talk about Dopamine. Dopamine is created in the brain when it receives signals from the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH for short!). ACTH is another one of those hormones that have a significant impact on the heart and subtle changes in its rhythm. Immersion tracks those changes as it relates to ACTH influence on the heart, in addition to Oxytocin. The data from those two signals are processed through our algorithms to output immersion!
So that's the simple explanation of our science - but it's definitely been a long journey in the making. For more information on our scientific underpinnings email us at: