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Campillo-Ferrer T, Alcaraz-Sánchez A, Demšar E, Wu HP, Dresler M, Windt J, Blanke O. Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105770. [PMID: 38880408 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Little is known about the neurophysiology of spontaneous OBEs, which are often reported by healthy individuals as occurring during states of reduced vigilance, particularly in proximity to or during sleep (sleep-related OBEs). In this paper, we review the current state of research on sleep-related OBEs and hypothesize that maintaining consciousness during transitions from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods) may facilitate sleep-related OBEs. Based on this hypothesis, we propose a new conceptual model that potentially describes the relationship between OBEs and sleep states. The model sheds light on the phenomenological differences between sleep-related OBEs and similar states of consciousness, such as lucid dreaming (the realization of being in a dream state) and sleep paralysis (feeling paralyzed while falling asleep or waking up), and explores the potential polysomnographic features underlying sleep-related OBEs. Additionally, we apply the predictive coding framework and suggest a connecting link between sleep-related OBEs and OBEs reported during wakefulness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Campillo-Ferrer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Adriana Alcaraz-Sánchez
- Centre for Philosophical Psychology, Department of Philosophy, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ema Demšar
- Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Melbourne, Australia; Monash University, Department of Philosophy, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Hsin-Ping Wu
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Martin Dresler
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jennifer Windt
- Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Melbourne, Australia; Monash University, Department of Philosophy, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
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2
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Rauf B, Perach R, Madrid-Valero JJ, Denis D, Sharpless BA, Farron H, French CC, Gregory AM. Associations between sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs: A scoping review. Br J Psychol 2023; 114:797-818. [PMID: 37070349 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
Night-time is a period of great significance for many people who report paranormal experiences. However, there is limited understanding of the associations between sleep variables and seemingly paranormal experiences and/or beliefs. The aim of this review is to improve our understanding of these associations while unifying a currently fragmented literature-base into a structured, practical review. In this pre-registered scoping review, we searched for relevant studies in MEDLINE (PubMed), PsycINFO (EBSCO), Web of Science and EMBASE using terms related to sleep and ostensibly paranormal experiences and beliefs. Forty-four studies met all inclusion criteria. All were cross-sectional and most investigated sleep paralysis and/or lucid dreaming in relation to ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs. Overall, there were positive associations between many sleep variables (including sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, nightmares, and hypnagogic hallucinations) and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs (including those of ghosts, spirits, and near-death experiences). The findings of this review have potential clinical implications such as reducing misdiagnosis and treatment development and provide foundations for further research. Our findings also highlight the importance of understanding why so many people report 'things that go bump in the night'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betul Rauf
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
| | - Rotem Perach
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
- School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK
| | - Juan J Madrid-Valero
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Science, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Dan Denis
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Brian A Sharpless
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hope Farron
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Alice M Gregory
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
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3
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Garcia-Campayo J, Hijar-Aguinaga R, Barceló-Soler A, Fernández-Martínez S, Aristegui R, Pérez-Aranda A. Examining the Relation Between Practicing Meditation and Having Peak Experiences and Lucid Dreams. A Cross-Sectional Study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:858745. [PMID: 35558700 PMCID: PMC9087568 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare meditators and non-meditators in terms of their tendency to have peak experiences and their dream lucidity, while examining the associations between these outcomes and some related variables such as non-dual awareness, mindfulness facets and absorption. In this cross-sectional study, 237 participants from general Spanish population completed an online survey that included ad hoc questions related to the study aim, along with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Non-dual Embodiment Thematic Inventory (NETI), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) and the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams Scale (LUCID). Of the total, 110 participants were identified as meditators and 127 as non-meditators. More than half of the sample (58.2%) reported having experienced at least one peak experience in their life; these showed no differences in the number, intensity, or self-inducing ability of these experiences between both groups but were significantly more common among meditators (71.8% vs. 46.8%; p < 0.001), who also presented higher scores in most of the questionnaires, except for some LUCID subscales. Regression models demonstrated that being a meditator was a significant predictor of having had a peak experience, but not of LUCID scores. These results, which need to be interpreted considering the study limitations, support the potential of meditation to facilitate having peak experiences, while its impact on lucid dreams remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Garcia-Campayo
- Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS), Zaragoza, Spain.,Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Rinchen Hijar-Aguinaga
- Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alberto Barceló-Soler
- Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS), Zaragoza, Spain.,Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain
| | | | - Roberto Aristegui
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Oriente, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Adrián Pérez-Aranda
- Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS), Zaragoza, Spain.,Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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4
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Abstract
Exceptional experiences (ExE) incorporate a range of phenomena including subjective paranormal and transpersonal experiences. Synesthesia and synesthetic experiences are discussed as important variables in understanding the etiologies of ExE. The neural and psychological correlates of synesthetic experiences (associated with hyperconnectivity) are discussed in relation to ExE. It is argued that synesthetic processes enable both the detection and conscious perception of information from a range of sources that are usually unseen or inaccessible, including abstract, unlanguaged, preconscious, and potentially other nonlocal sources.
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5
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Glicksohn J. Patterns of Occurrence of Four States of Consciousness as a Function of Trait Absorption. J Pers Oriented Res 2019; 5:27-36. [PMID: 33569139 PMCID: PMC7842639 DOI: 10.17505/jpor.2019.03] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Four states of consciousness are considered here: the hypnagogic state (the transitional state between waking and sleeping); the hypnopompic state (the transitional state between sleeping and waking); lucid dreaming (insight to the fact that one is currently dreaming); and the out-of-the-body experience (perceiving the world from a location outside the physical body). There are different patterns of occurrence of experience with these states of consciousness, and the present data set deriving from a cross-sectional study (a convenience sample comprising 251 participants who had completed a battery of questionnaires, as reported in Glicksohn & Barrett, 2003), enables one to plot these configurations. There are two contrasting positions on the relationship that trait Absorption will bear on the pattern of occurrence of these different profiles of subjective experience, or configuration of profiles of states. One is that higher Absorption will entail more differentiation among these states of consciousness; the other is that higher Absorption will entail less differentiation among these states. Both positions find support in the present data set: higher Absorption entails more differentiation as one moves from those respondents scoring slightly lower than the median to those scoring slightly higher than the median on Absorption, whereas very high Absorption entails less differentiation relative to very low Absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Glicksohn
- Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
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6
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Facco E, Casiglia E, Al Khafaji BE, Finatti F, Duma GM, Mento G, Pederzoli L, Tressoldi P. THE NEUROPHENOMENOLOGY OF OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES INDUCED BY HYPNOTIC SUGGESTIONS. Int J Clin Exp Hypn 2019; 67:39-68. [PMID: 30702402 DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2019.1553762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Inducing out-of-body experiences in hypnosis (H-OBEs) offers an almost unique opportunity to investigate them under controlled conditions. OBEs were induced as an imaginative task in a resting condition (I-OBE) or in hypnosis (H-OBE) in a group of 15 high hypnotizable subjects. A 32-channel EEG was recorded, and the spectral power and imaginary coherence of each frequency band and each couple of electrodes were calculated. At the end of each session, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) was administered to assess the phenomenological aspects of the subjects' experience. Significantly higher scores in the altered state, positive affect altered experience, and attention subdimensions of the PCI were reported in H-OBE than in I-OBE, which were associated with a significant decrease of power in beta and gamma band activity in right parieto-temporal derivations. These results suggest that the H-OBE may offer a useful experimental model of spontaneous OBEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Facco
- a University of Padua and Institute Franco Granone - Italian Center of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis , Turin , Italy
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7
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Milne E, Dunn S, Zhao C, Jones M. Altered neural dynamics in people who report spontaneous out of body experiences. Cortex 2018; 111:87-99. [PMID: 30472385 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Revised: 09/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
It has been suggested that individual differences in cortical excitability leading to disruption of the timing and integration of sensory information processing may explain why some people have out of body experiences (OBE) in the absence of any known pathological or psychiatric condition. Here we recorded EEG from people who either had, or had not experienced an OBE in order to investigate the neural dynamics of OBE in the non-clinical population. A screening questionnaire was completed by 551 people, 24% of whom reported having at least one OBE. Participants who were free of any psychiatric or neurological diagnoses, including migraines, were invited to take part in subsequent EEG recording. EEG data were obtained from 19 people who had had an OBE and 20 who had not. Amplitude of the visual P1 ERP deflection and consistency of alpha-band phase locking were significantly reduced in the participants who had had an OBE. We did not find any group differences in resting state power or in visually induced gamma oscillations. These results provide support for the claim that cortical differences, particularly with respect to the timing of visual information processing, may give rise to OBE in clinically healthy individuals. To our knowledge, this study is the first to compare EEG variables obtained from people who have, and have not, had an OBE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Milne
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
| | - Stephanie Dunn
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Chen Zhao
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Myles Jones
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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8
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Lopez C, Elzière M. Out-of-body experience in vestibular disorders – A prospective study of 210 patients with dizziness. Cortex 2018; 104:193-206. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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9
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Sounds from seeing silent motion: Who hears them, and what looks loudest? Cortex 2018; 103:130-141. [PMID: 29625386 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Revised: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Some people hear what they see: car indicator lights, flashing neon shop signs, and people's movements as they walk may all trigger an auditory sensation, which we call the visual-evoked auditory response (vEAR or 'visual ear'). We have conducted the first large-scale online survey (N > 4000) of this little-known phenomenon. We analysed the prevalence of vEAR, what induces it, and what other traits are associated with it. We assessed prevalence by asking whether respondents had previously experienced vEAR. Participants then rated silent videos for vividness of evoked auditory sensations, and answered additional trait questions. Prevalence appeared higher relative to other typical synaesthesias. Prior awareness and video ratings were associated with greater frequency of other synaesthesias, including flashes evoked by sounds, and musical imagery. Higher-rated videos often depicted meaningful events that predicted sounds (e.g., collisions). However, even videos containing abstract flickering or moving patterns could also elicit higher ratings, despite having no predictable association with sounds. Such videos had higher levels of raw 'motion energy' (ME), which we quantified using a simple computational model of motion processing in early visual cortex. Critically, only respondents reporting prior awareness of vEAR tended to show a positive correlation between video ratings and ME. This specific sensitivity to ME suggests that in vEAR, signals from visual motion processing may affect audition relatively directly without requiring higher-level interpretative processes. Our other findings challenge the popular assumption that individuals with synaesthesia are rare and have ideosyncratic patterns of brain hyper-connectivity. Instead, our findings of apparently high prevalence and broad associations with other synaesthesias and traits are jointly consistent with a common dependence on normal variations in physiological mechanisms of disinhibition or excitability of sensory brain areas and their functional connectivity. The prevalence of vEAR makes it easier to test such hypotheses further, and makes the results more relevant to understanding not only synaesthetic anomalies but also normal perception.
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10
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Carruthers G. Confabulation or experience? Implications of out-of-body experiences for theories of consciousness. THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0959354317745590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Difficulties in distinguishing veridical reports of experience from confabulations have implications for theories of consciousness. I develop some of these implications through a consideration of out-of-body experiences (OBEs). Do these variations indicate individual variation in experience or are they post-hoc confabulations, stories told by subjects to themselves in an attempt to make sense of the core phenomenology? I argue that no existent or possible evidence would be sufficient to favour one hypothesis over the other. How such evidence is interpreted depends on prior commitments to one or other of these hypotheses or to a theory of consciousness that is not neutral as to these hypotheses. One of these types of theory, namely vehicle theories, has difficulty accommodating the existence of confabulations and so allows for only the elaborate phenomenology hypothesis. Because we cannot know that reports are not confabulations, vehicle theories are insufficient to explain OBEs.
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11
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Soffer-Dudek N. Arousal in Nocturnal Consciousness: How Dream- and Sleep-Experiences May Inform Us of Poor Sleep Quality, Stress, and Psychopathology. Front Psychol 2017; 8:733. [PMID: 28539902 PMCID: PMC5423938 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The term "sleep experiences," coined by Watson (2001), denotes an array of unusual nocturnal consciousness phenomena; for example, nightmares, vivid or recurrent dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations, dreams of falling or flying, confusional arousals, and lucid dreams. Excluding the latter, these experiences reflect a single factor of atypical oneiric cognitions ("general sleep experiences"). The current study is an opinionated mini-review on the associations of this factor-measured with the Iowa sleep experiences survey (ISES, Watson, 2001)-with psychopathological symptoms and stress. Findings support a strong relation between psychological distress and general sleep experiences. It is suggested that that they should be viewed as a sleep disturbance; they seem to represent involuntary intrusions of wakefulness into sleep, resulting in aroused sleep. These intrusions may stem from excessively thin boundaries between consciousness states (e.g., "transliminality"), or, conversely, they may follow an attempt at disconnecting mental elements (e.g., dissociation), which paradoxically results in a "rebound effect." The extent to which unusual dreaming is experienced as intrusive, rather than controlled, may explain why general sleep experiences are related to psychopathology, whereas lucid dreams are related to psychological resilience. In conclusion, the exploration of the interplay between psychopathology and sleep should be expanded from focusing almost exclusively on quantitative aspects (e.g., sleep efficiency, latency) to including qualitative conscious experiences which may reflect poor sleep quality. Taking into account nocturnal consciousness-including unusual dreaming and permeable sleep-wake boundaries-may unveil rich information on night-time emotional states and broaden our definition of poor sleep quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirit Soffer-Dudek
- Consciousness and Psychopathology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer-Sheva, Israel
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12
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Takeuchi H, Taki Y, Nouchi R, Yokoyama R, Kotozaki Y, Nakagawa S, Sekiguchi A, Iizuka K, Yamamoto Y, Hanawa S, Araki T, Makoto Miyauchi C, Shinada T, Sakaki K, Sassa Y, Nozawa T, Ikeda S, Yokota S, Daniele M, Kawashima R. Creative females have larger white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 38:414-430. [PMID: 27647672 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The importance of brain connectivity for creativity has been theoretically suggested and empirically demonstrated. Studies have shown sex differences in creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) as well as sex differences in the structural correlates of CMDT. However, the relationships between regional white matter volume (rWMV) and CMDT and associated sex differences have never been directly investigated. In addition, structural studies have shown poor replicability and inaccuracy of multiple comparisons over the whole brain. To address these issues, we used the data from a large sample of healthy young adults (776 males and 560 females; mean age: 20.8 years, SD = 0.8). We investigated the relationship between CMDT and WMV using the newest version of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We corrected for multiple comparisons over whole brain using the permutation-based method, which is known to be quite accurate and robust. Significant positive correlations between rWMV and CMDT scores were observed in widespread areas below the neocortex specifically in females. These associations with CMDT were not observed in analyses of fractional anisotropy using diffusion tensor imaging. Using rigorous methods, our findings further supported the importance of brain connectivity for creativity as well as its female-specific association. Hum Brain Mapp 38:414-430, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hikaru Takeuchi
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Taki
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Division of Medical Neuroimaging Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Rui Nouchi
- Creative Interdisciplinary Research Division, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Human and Social Response Research Division, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | | | - Yuka Kotozaki
- Division of Clinical research, Medical-Industry Translational Research Center, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Seishu Nakagawa
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Atsushi Sekiguchi
- Division of Medical Neuroimaging Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kunio Iizuka
- Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yuki Yamamoto
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Sugiko Hanawa
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Araki
- Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Carlos Makoto Miyauchi
- Department of General Systems Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takamitsu Shinada
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Kohei Sakaki
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yuko Sassa
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Takayuki Nozawa
- Department of Ubiquitous Sensing, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Ikeda
- Department of Ubiquitous Sensing, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Susumu Yokota
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Magistro Daniele
- School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Loughborough University, England
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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13
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Terhune DB, Luke DP, Kaelen M, Bolstridge M, Feilding A, Nutt D, Carhart-Harris R, Ward J. A placebo-controlled investigation of synaesthesia-like experiences under LSD. Neuropsychologia 2016; 88:28-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Revised: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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14
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Simmonds-Moore CA. An interpretative phenomenological analysis exploring synesthesia as an exceptional experience: insights for consciousness and cognition. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2016.1205693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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15
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What Happens in Your Brain During Mental Dissociation? A Quest Towards Neural Markers of a Unified Sense of Self. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-016-0063-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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16
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Craffert PF. When is an Out-of-Body Experience (Not) an Out-of-Body Experience? Reflections about Out-of-Body Phenomena in Neuroscientific Research. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND CULTURE 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12342138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In recent years there has been an increased interest in the study of out-of-body experiences (obes) by cognitive and neuro-scientists. Nowadays, far-reaching claims regarding the uncovering of the neural mechanisms and pathways, as well as the mystery ofobes in the anthropological and historical record are on offer. In this article the implicit assumption thatobes are much better understood and that real progress has been made are questioned on the basis of the definitional and conceptual problems that still haunt this area of research. It is suggested that progress will only be registered once the spectrum of out-of-body phenomena (obp) is recognized and attention is paid to the neurocultural complexity of distinct instances ofobes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter F. Craffert
- College of Human Sciences, University of South AfricaPretoriaSouth Africa
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17
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Kaliuzhna M, Vibert D, Grivaz P, Blanke O. Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral Peripheral Vestibular Damage and Deficient Multisensory Integration. Multisens Res 2015; 28:613-35. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are illusory perceptions of one’s body from an elevated disembodied perspective. Recent theories postulate a double disintegration process in the personal (visual, proprioceptive and tactile disintegration) and extrapersonal (visual and vestibular disintegration) space as the basis of OBEs. Here we describe a case which corroborates and extends this hypothesis. The patient suffered from peripheral vestibular damage and presented with OBEs and lucid dreams. Analysis of the patient’s behaviour revealed a failure of visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that have previously been shown to experimentally induce out-of-body illusions (in healthy subjects). In light of these experimental findings and the patient’s symptomatology we extend an earlier model of the role of vestibular signals in OBEs. Our results advocate the involvement of subcortical bodily mechanisms in the occurrence of OBEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dominique Vibert
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital (Inselspital) of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Petr Grivaz
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
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Smith AM, Messier C. Voluntary Out-of-Body Experience: An fMRI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:70. [PMID: 24575000 PMCID: PMC3918960 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The present single-case study examined functional brain imaging patterns in a participant that reported being able, at will, to produce somatosensory sensations that are experienced as her body moving outside the boundaries of her physical body all the while remaining aware of her unmoving physical body. We found that the brain functional changes associated with the reported extra-corporeal experience (ECE) were different than those observed in motor imagery. Activations were mainly left-sided and involved the left supplementary motor area and supramarginal and posterior superior temporal gyri, the last two overlapping with the temporal parietal junction that has been associated with out-of-body experiences. The cerebellum also showed activation that is consistent with the participant’s report of the impression of movement during the ECE. There was also left middle and superior orbital frontal gyri activity, regions often associated with action monitoring. The results suggest that the ECE reported here represents an unusual type of kinesthetic imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andra M Smith
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, ON , Canada
| | - Claude Messier
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, ON , Canada
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Wilkins LK, Girard TA, Cheyne JA. Anomalous bodily-self experiences among recreational ketamine users. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2013; 17:415-30. [PMID: 22414229 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2012.663162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Out-of-body experiences present a unique paradigm to investigate cognitive and neural mechanisms of bodily-self processes and their disorders. Previous work on out-of-body experiences associated with sleep paralysis supported a model in which illusory movement experiences reflect disrupted bodily-self integration generating anomalous vestibular and motor sensations. Further disintegration and progression of the experience may then give rise to out-of-body feelings, which in turn may instigate out-of-body autoscopy. METHODS The current study assesses the disintegration model through analyses of out-of-body experiences reports from an online survey of individuals reporting recreational ketamine use (n=128) and cross-validation in a sample of nonketamine polydrug users (n=64). Path analyses using intensity and frequency measures of anomalous experiences assess the fit of seven competing models. RESULTS The disintegration model (illusory movement → out-of-body feelings → out-of-body autoscopy) emerged as the best fitting model overall and results support full mediation of the relation between illusory movement experiences and out-of-body autoscopy by out-of-body feelings. Moreover, lifetime measures of ketamine use predicted the frequency of illusory movement experiences. CONCLUSIONS The results corroborate this structural model of out-of-body phenomena and encourage a framework for future studies into aetiological mechanisms of out-of-body experiences to include neurochemical systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne K Wilkins
- Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Kusnir F, Thut G. Formation of automatic letter–colour associations in non-synaesthetes through likelihood manipulation of letter–colour pairings. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:3641-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2011] [Revised: 09/10/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Facco E, Agrillo C. Near-Death-Like Experiences without Life-Threatening Conditions or Brain Disorders: A Hypothesis from a Case Report. Front Psychol 2012; 3:490. [PMID: 23162522 PMCID: PMC3498963 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2012] [Accepted: 10/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are profound psychic experiences commonly occurring in life-threatening conditions. They include feeling a sense of peace, of seeing a bright light, encountering deceased relatives or religious figures, and of transcending space and time. To explain them, it has been suggested that they stem from brain disorders and/or psychological reactions to approaching death, a sort of wishful thinking in response to the perceived threat. This is a report on a case with most of the features typical of NDEs except that it occurred entirely without any life-threatening conditions. This evidence is theoretically incompatible with either of the above hypotheses, suggesting that a broader interpretation of the phenomenon is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Facco
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Italian Center for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Torino, Italy
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Unilateral autoscopic phenomena as a lateralizing sign in focal epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2012; 23:360-3. [PMID: 22377330 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2011] [Revised: 01/17/2012] [Accepted: 01/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Positive autoscopic phenomena - autoscopy, heautoscopy and out-of-body experience - may occur in a variety of diseases and also in physiological conditions. They are a rare but probably underreported phenomenon in focal epilepsies. Here, we investigate whether ictal lateralized autoscopic phenomena give lateralizing information about the underlying epileptic focus. We present the cases of seven patients from our center who experienced ictal lateralized autoscopic phenomena and analyzed their focus lateralization and localization of the underlying brain lesion. In addition, we reviewed seven cases published in German and English language literature. In the total group of 14 patients with ictal lateralized autoscopic phenomena, 12 (85.7%) of them had a well-defined epileptic focus contralateral to the side of the autoscopic appearance. Therefore, the data point to an association between ictal lateralized autoscopy and contralateral epileptic focus.
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Banissy MJ, Cassell JE, Fitzpatrick S, Ward J, Walsh VX, Muggleton NG. Increased positive and disorganised schizotypy in synaesthetes who experience colour from letters and tones. Cortex 2011; 48:1085-7. [PMID: 21745663 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2011] [Revised: 05/10/2011] [Accepted: 06/09/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Cognitive correlates of the spontaneous out-of-body experience (OBE) in the psychologically normal population: Evidence for an increased role of temporal-lobe instability, body-distortion processing, and impairments in own-body transformations. Cortex 2011; 47:839-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2009] [Revised: 02/19/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Braithwaite JJ, Dent K. New perspectives on perspective-taking mechanisms and the out-of-body experience. Cortex 2011; 47:628-32. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2010] [Revised: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 11/23/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Foley JA, Della Sala S. Do shorter Cortex papers have greater impact? Cortex 2011; 47:635-42. [PMID: 21463860 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2011] [Accepted: 03/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Anzellotti F, Onofrj V, Maruotti V, Ricciardi L, Franciotti R, Bonanni L, Thomas A, Onofrj M. Autoscopic phenomena: case report and review of literature. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2011; 7:2. [PMID: 21219608 PMCID: PMC3032659 DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-7-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2010] [Accepted: 01/10/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autoscopic phenomena are psychic illusory visual experiences consisting of the perception of the image of one's own body or face within space, either from an internal point of view, as in a mirror or from an external point of view. Descriptions based on phenomenological criteria distinguish six types of autoscopic experiences: autoscopic hallucination, he-autoscopy or heautoscopic proper, feeling of a presence, out of body experience, negative and inner forms of autoscopy. METHODS AND RESULTS We report a case of a patient with he-autoscopic seizures. EEG recordings during the autoscopic experience showed a right parietal epileptic focus. This finding confirms the involvement of the temporo-parietal junction in the abnormal body perception during autoscopic phenomena. We discuss and review previous literature on the topic, as different localization of cortical areas are reported suggesting that out of body experience is generated in the right hemisphere while he-autoscopy involves left hemisphere structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Anzellotti
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Valerio Maruotti
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Leopoldo Ricciardi
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Raffaella Franciotti
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Astrid Thomas
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Aging Research Centre, Ce.S.I., "G. d'Annunzio" University Foundation G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
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Foley JA, Della Sala S. Geographical distribution of Cortex publications. Cortex 2010; 46:410-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2009.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2009] [Accepted: 11/23/2009] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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The body unbound: Vestibular–motor hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. Cortex 2009; 45:201-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2007.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2006] [Revised: 04/10/2007] [Accepted: 05/31/2007] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Wade NJ. Beyond body experiences: Phantom limbs, pain and the locus of sensation. Cortex 2009; 45:243-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2007.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2006] [Revised: 03/09/2007] [Accepted: 06/11/2007] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Overney LS, Arzy S, Blanke O. Deficient mental own-body imagery in a neurological patient with out-of-body experiences due to cannabis use. Cortex 2009; 45:228-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2008.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2006] [Revised: 07/27/2007] [Accepted: 02/15/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Easton S, Blanke O, Mohr C. A putative implication for fronto-parietal connectivity in out-of-body experiences. Cortex 2009; 45:216-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2007.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2006] [Revised: 07/13/2007] [Accepted: 07/23/2007] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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