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Martial C, Piarulli A, Gosseries O, Cassol H, Ledoux D, Charland-Verville V, Laureys S. EEG signature of near-death-like experiences during syncope-induced periods of unresponsiveness. Neuroimage 2024; 298:120759. [PMID: 39067553 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120759] [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: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
During fainting, disconnected consciousness may emerge in the form of dream-like experiences. Characterized by extra-ordinary and mystical features, these subjective experiences have been associated to near-death-like experiences (NDEs-like). We here aim to assess brain activity during syncope-induced disconnected consciousness by means of high-density EEG monitoring. Transient loss of consciousness and unresponsiveness were induced in 27 healthy volunteers through hyperventilation, orthostasis, and Valsalva maneuvers. Upon awakening, subjects were asked to report memories, if any. The Greyson NDE scale was used to evaluate the potential phenomenological content experienced during the syncope-induced periods of unresponsiveness. EEG source reconstruction assessed cortical activations during fainting, which were regressed out with subjective reports collected upon recovery of normal consciousness. We also conducted functional connectivity, graph-theoretic and complexity analyses. High quality high-density EEG data were obtained in 22 volunteers during syncope and unresponsiveness (lasting 22±8 s). NDE-like features (Greyson NDE scale total score ≥7/32) were apparent for eight volunteers and characterized by higher activity in delta, theta and beta2 bands in temporal and frontal regions. The richness of the NDE-like content was associated with delta, theta and beta2 bands cortical current densities, in temporal, parietal and frontal lobes, including insula, right temporoparietal junction, and cingulate cortex. Our analyses also revealed a higher complexity and that networks related to delta, theta, and beta2 bands were characterized by a higher overall connectivity paralleled by a higher segregation (i.e., local efficiency) and a higher integration (i.e., global efficiency) for the NDE-like group compared to the non-NDE-like group. Fainting-induced NDE-like episodes seem to be sustained by surges of neural activity representing promising markers of disconnected consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Martial
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau², University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'Hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
| | - Andrea Piarulli
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Via Paradisa 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Olivia Gosseries
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau², University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'Hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Héléna Cassol
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Didier Ledoux
- Centre du Cerveau², University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'Hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Department of Intensive Care and Resuscitation, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'Hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Vanessa Charland-Verville
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau², University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium, Avenue de l'Hôpital, 11, 4000 Liège, Belgium
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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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3
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Weiler M, Acunzo DJ, Cozzolino PJ, Greyson B. Exploring the transformative potential of out-of-body experiences: A pathway to enhanced empathy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105764. [PMID: 38879098 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105764] [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: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are subjective phenomena during which individuals feel disembodied or perceive themselves as outside of their physical bodies, often resulting in profound and transformative effects. In particular, experiencers report greater heightened pro-social behavior, including more peaceful relationships, tolerance, and empathy. Drawing parallels with the phenomenon of ego dissolution induced by certain psychedelic substances, we explore the notion that OBEs may engender these changes through ego dissolution, which fosters a deep-seated sense of unity and interconnectedness with others. We then assess potential brain mechanisms underlying the link between OBEs and empathy, considering the involvement of the temporoparietal junction and the Default Mode Network. This manuscript offers an examination of the potential pathways through which OBEs catalyze empathic enhancement, shedding light on the intricate interplay between altered states of consciousness and human empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Weiler
- Division of Perceptual Studies. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
| | - David J Acunzo
- Division of Perceptual Studies. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Philip J Cozzolino
- Division of Perceptual Studies. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Bruce Greyson
- Division of Perceptual Studies. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA
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de Boer DML, Johnston PJ, Namdar F, Kerr G, Cleeremans A. Predicting the bodily self in space and time. Sci Rep 2024; 14:14813. [PMID: 38926514 PMCID: PMC11208493 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65607-y] [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: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
To understand how the human brain distinguishes itself from external stimulation, it was examined if motor predictions enable healthy adult volunteers to infer self-location and to distinguish their body from the environment (and other agents). By uniquely combining a VR-setup with full-body motion capture, a full-body illusion paradigm (FBI) was developed with different levels of motion control: (A) a standard, passive FBI in which they had no motion control; (B) an active FBI in which they made simple, voluntary movements; and (C) an immersive game in which they real-time controlled a human-sized avatar in third person. Systematic comparisons between measures revealed a causal relationship between (i) motion control (prospective agency), (ii) self-other identification, and (iii) the ability to locate oneself. Healthy adults could recognise their movements in a third-person avatar and psychologically align with it (action observation); but did not lose a sense of place (self-location), time (temporal binding), nor who they are (self/other). Instead, motor predictions enabled them to localise their body and to distinguish self from other. In the future, embodied games could target and strengthen the brain's control networks in psychosis and neurodegeneration; real-time motion simulations could help advance neurorehabilitation techniques by fine-tuning and personalising therapeutic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M L de Boer
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, 149 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, QLD, 4059, Australia.
- Consciousness, Cognition, and Computation Group (CO3), Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CP191, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - P J Johnston
- Information Sciences Division, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Eagle Farm, QLD, 4009, Australia
| | - F Namdar
- Design doc, Gerardt Burghoutweg 23, 1111 BW, Diemen, The Netherlands
| | - G Kerr
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, 149 Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, QLD, 4059, Australia
| | - A Cleeremans
- Consciousness, Cognition, and Computation Group (CO3), Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CP191, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
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Kittleson AR, Woodward ND, Heckers S, Sheffield JM. The insula: Leveraging cellular and systems-level research to better understand its roles in health and schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 160:105643. [PMID: 38531518 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105643] [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: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a highly heterogeneous disorder characterized by a multitude of complex and seemingly non-overlapping symptoms. The insular cortex has gained increasing attention in neuroscience and psychiatry due to its involvement in a diverse range of fundamental human experiences and behaviors. This review article provides an overview of the insula's cellular and anatomical organization, functional and structural connectivity, and functional significance. Focusing on specific insula subregions and using knowledge gained from humans and preclinical studies of insular tracings in non-human primates, we review the literature and discuss the functional roles of each subregion, including in somatosensation, interoception, salience processing, emotional processing, and social cognition. Building from this foundation, we then extend these findings to discuss reported abnormalities of these functions in individuals with schizophrenia, implicating insular involvement in schizophrenia pathology. This review underscores the insula's vast role in the human experience and how abnormal insula structure and function could result in the wide-ranging symptoms observed in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R Kittleson
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37235, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, United States.
| | - Neil D Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, United States.
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, United States.
| | - Julia M Sheffield
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, United States.
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Moon HJ, Albert L, De Falco E, Tasu C, Gauthier B, Park HD, Blanke O. Changes in spatial self-consciousness elicit grid cell-like representation in the entorhinal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315758121. [PMID: 38489383 PMCID: PMC10962966 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315758121] [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: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Grid cells in the entorhinal cortex (EC) encode an individual's location in space, integrating both environmental and multisensory bodily cues. Notably, body-derived signals are also primary signals for the sense of self. While studies have demonstrated that continuous application of visuo-tactile bodily stimuli can induce perceptual shifts in self-location, it remains unexplored whether these illusory changes suffice to trigger grid cell-like representation (GCLR) within the EC, and how this compares to GCLR during conventional virtual navigation. To address this, we systematically induced illusory drifts in self-location toward controlled directions using visuo-tactile bodily stimulation, while maintaining the subjects' visual viewpoint fixed (absent conventional virtual navigation). Subsequently, we evaluated the corresponding GCLR in the EC through functional MRI analysis. Our results reveal that illusory changes in perceived self-location (independent of changes in environmental navigation cues) can indeed evoke entorhinal GCLR, correlating in strength with the magnitude of perceived self-location, and characterized by similar grid orientation as during conventional virtual navigation in the same virtual room. These data demonstrate that the same grid-like representation is recruited when navigating based on environmental, mainly visual cues, or when experiencing illusory forward drifts in self-location, driven by perceptual multisensory bodily cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyuk-June Moon
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Bionics Research Center, Biomedical Research Division, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Louis Albert
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Emanuela De Falco
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Corentin Tasu
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Baptiste Gauthier
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Clinical Research Unit, Cantonal Hospital, Neuchâtel2000, Switzerland
| | - Hyeong-Dong Park
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Geneva1202, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva1205, Switzerland
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Drosos E, Komaitis S, Liouta E, Neromyliotis E, Charalampopoulou E, Anastasopoulos L, Kalamatianos T, Skandalakis GP, Troupis T, Stranjalis G, Kalyvas AV, Koutsarnakis C. Parcellating the vertical associative fiber network of the temporoparietal area: Evidence from focused anatomic fiber dissections. BRAIN & SPINE 2024; 4:102759. [PMID: 38510613 PMCID: PMC10951769 DOI: 10.1016/j.bas.2024.102759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Introduction The connectivity of the temporoparietal (TP) region has been the subject of multiple anatomical and functional studies. Its role in high cognitive functions has been primarily correlated with long association fiber connections. As a major sensory integration hub, coactivation of areas within the TP requires a stream of short association fibers running between its subregions. The latter have been the subject of a small number of recent in vivo and cadaveric studies. This has resulted in limited understanding of this network and, in certain occasions, terminology ambiguity. Research question To systematically study the vertical parietal and temporoparietal short association fibers. Material and methods Thirteen normal, adult cadaveric hemispheres, were treated with the Klinger's freeze-thaw process and their subcortical anatomy was studied using the microdissection technique. Results Two separate fiber layers were identified. Superficially, directly beneath the cortical u-fibers, the Stratum proprium intraparietalis (SP) was seen connecting Superior Parietal lobule and Precuneal cortical areas to inferior cortical regions of the Parietal lobe, running deep to the Intraparietal sulcus. At the same dissection level, the IPL-TP fibers were identified as a bundle connecting the Inferior Parietal lobule with posterior Temporal cortical areas. At a deeper level, parallel to the Arcuate fasciculus fibers, the SPL-TP fibers were seen connecting the Superior Parietal lobule to posterior Temporal cortical areas. Discussion and conclusion To our knowledge this is the first cadaveric dissection study to comprehensively study and describe of the vertical association fibers of the temporoparietal region while proposing a universal terminology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangelos Drosos
- Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences, Northern Care Alliance NHS FT, Manchester, UK
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Anatomy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Spyridon Komaitis
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Evangelia Liouta
- Hellenic Center for Neurosurgical Research “Prof. Petros Kokkalis”, Athens, Greece
| | - Eleftherios Neromyliotis
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Eirini Charalampopoulou
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Lykourgos Anastasopoulos
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Theodosis Kalamatianos
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Hellenic Center for Neurosurgical Research “Prof. Petros Kokkalis”, Athens, Greece
| | - Georgios P. Skandalakis
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Theodoros Troupis
- Department of Anatomy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George Stranjalis
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Hellenic Center for Neurosurgical Research “Prof. Petros Kokkalis”, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Aristotelis V. Kalyvas
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Christos Koutsarnakis
- Athens Microneurosurgery Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Hellenic Center for Neurosurgical Research “Prof. Petros Kokkalis”, Athens, Greece
- Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
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Wu HP, Nakul E, Betka S, Lance F, Herbelin B, Blanke O. Out-of-body illusion induced by visual-vestibular stimulation. iScience 2024; 27:108547. [PMID: 38161418 PMCID: PMC10755362 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective feeling of being located outside one's physical body and perceiving one's own body from an elevated perspective looking downwards. OBEs have been correlated with abnormal integration of bodily signals, including visual and vestibular information. In two studies, we used mixed reality combined with a motion platform to manipulate visual and vestibular integration in healthy participants. Behavioral data and questionnaires show that congruent visual-vestibular stimulation in a self-centered reference frame induced an OBE-like illusion characterized by elevated self-location and feelings of disembodiment and lightness. The OBE-like illusion was also modulated by individuals' visual field dependency assessed by the Rod and Frame Test. These results show that the manipulation of visual-vestibular stimulation in the present study induces various aspects of OBEs and further link OBE to congruency mechanisms between visual and vestibular gravitational and self-motion cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Ping Wu
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Estelle Nakul
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Betka
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Florian Lance
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - 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 Neurosciences, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Foffani G. To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgad442. [PMID: 38178978 PMCID: PMC10766414 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The boundaries between waking and sleeping-when falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking up (hypnopompic)-can be challenging for our ability to monitor and interpret reality. Without proper understanding, bizarre but relatively normal hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences can be misinterpreted as psychotic hallucinations (occurring, by definition, in the fully awake state), potentially leading to stigma and misdiagnosis in clinical contexts and to misconception and bias in research contexts. This Perspective proposes that conceptual and practical understanding for differentiating hallucinations from hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences may be offered by lucid dreaming, the state in which one is aware of dreaming while sleeping. I first introduce a possible systematization of the phenomenological range of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences that can occur in the transition from awake to REM dreaming (including hypnagogic perceptions, transition symptoms, sleep paralysis, false awakenings, and out-of-body experiences). I then outline how metacognitive strategies used by lucid dreamers to gain/confirm oneiric lucidity could be tested for better differentiating hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences from hallucinations. The relevance of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming is analyzed for schizophrenia and narcolepsy, and discussed for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Lewy-body disorders (i.e. Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies), offering testable hypotheses for empirical investigation. Finally, emotionally positive lucid dreams triggered or enhanced by training/induction strategies or by a pathological process may have intrinsic therapeutic value if properly recognized and guided. The overall intention is to raise awareness and foster further research about the possible diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guglielmo Foffani
- HM CINAC (Centro Integral de Neurociencias Abarca Campal), Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid 28938, Spain
- Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Toledo 45004, Spain
- CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28031, Spain
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Lyu D, Stieger JR, Xin C, Ma E, Lusk Z, Aparicio MK, Werbaneth K, Perry CM, Deisseroth K, Buch V, Parvizi J. Causal evidence for the processing of bodily self in the anterior precuneus. Neuron 2023; 111:2502-2512.e4. [PMID: 37295420 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
To probe the causal importance of the human posteromedial cortex (PMC) in processing the sense of self, we studied a rare cohort of nine patients with electrodes implanted bilaterally in the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and retrosplenial regions with a combination of neuroimaging, intracranial recordings, and direct cortical stimulations. In all participants, the stimulation of specific sites within the anterior precuneus (aPCu) caused dissociative changes in physical and spatial domains. Using single-pulse electrical stimulations and neuroimaging, we present effective and resting-state connectivity of aPCu hot zone with the rest of the brain and show that they are located outside the boundaries of the default mode network (DMN) but connected reciprocally with it. We propose that the function of this subregion of the PMC is integral to a range of cognitive processes that require the self's physical point of reference, given its location within a spatial environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dian Lyu
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - James Robert Stieger
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Cindy Xin
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Eileen Ma
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Zoe Lusk
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mariel Kalkach Aparicio
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Werbaneth
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Claire Megan Perry
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Departments of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Vivek Buch
- Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Josef Parvizi
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Departments of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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11
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Erdeniz B, Tekgün E, Lenggenhager B, Lopez C. Visual perspective, distance, and felt presence of others in dreams. Conscious Cogn 2023; 113:103547. [PMID: 37390767 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2023.103547] [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: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
The peripersonal space, that is, the limited space surrounding the body, involves multisensory coding and representation of the self in space. Previous studies have shown that peripersonal space representation and the visual perspective on the environment can be dramatically altered when neurotypical individuals self-identify with a distant avatar (i.e., in virtual reality) or during clinical conditions (i.e., out-of-body experience, heautoscopy, depersonalization). Despite its role in many cognitive/social functions, the perception of peripersonal space in dreams, and its relationship with the perception of other characters (interpersonal distance in dreams), remain largely uncharted. The present study aimed to explore the visuospatial properties of this space, which is likely to underlie self-location as well as self/other distinction in dreams. 530 healthy volunteers answered a web-based questionnaire to measure their dominant visuo-spatial perspective in dreams, the frequency of recall for felt distances between their dream self and other dream characters, and the dreamers' viewing angle of other dream characters. Most participants reported dream experiences from a first-person perspective (1PP) (82%) compared to a third-person perspective (3PP) (18%). Independent of their dream perspective, participants reported that they generally perceived other dream characters in their close space, that is, at distance of either between 0 and 90 cm, or 90-180 cm, than in further spaces (180-270 cm). Regardless of the perspective (1PP or 3PP), both groups also reported more frequently seeing other dream characters from eye level (0° angle of viewing) than from above (30° and 60°) or below eye level (-30° and -60°). Moreover, the intensity of sensory experiences in dreams, as measured by the Bodily Self-Consciousness in Dreams Questionnaire, was higher in individuals who habitually see other dream characters closer to their personal dream self (i.e., within 0-90 cm and 90-180 cm). These preliminary findings offer a new, phenomenological account of space representation in dreams with regards to the felt presence of others. They might provide insights not only to our understanding of how dreams are formed, but also to the type of neurocomputations involved in self/other distinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burak Erdeniz
- İzmir University of Economics, Department of Psychology, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Ege Tekgün
- İzmir University of Economics, Department of Psychology, İzmir, Turkey
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12
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Romand R, Ehret G. Neuro-functional modeling of near-death experiences in contexts of altered states of consciousness. Front Psychol 2023; 13:846159. [PMID: 36743633 PMCID: PMC9891231 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) including out-of-body experiences (OBEs) have been fascinating phenomena of perception both for affected persons and for communities in science and medicine. Modern progress in the recording of changing brain functions during the time between clinical death and brain death opened the perspective to address and understand the generation of NDEs in brain states of altered consciousness. Changes of consciousness can experimentally be induced in well-controlled clinical or laboratory settings. Reports of the persons having experienced the changes can inform about the similarity of the experiences with those from original NDEs. Thus, we collected neuro-functional models of NDEs including OBEs with experimental backgrounds of drug consumption, epilepsy, brain stimulation, and ischemic stress, and included so far largely unappreciated data from fighter pilot tests under gravitational stress generating cephalic nervous system ischemia. Since we found a large overlap of NDE themes or topics from original NDE reports with those from neuro-functional NDE models, we can state that, collectively, the models offer scientifically appropriate causal explanations for the occurrence of NDEs. The generation of OBEs, one of the NDE themes, can be localized in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) of the brain, a multimodal association area. The evaluated literature suggests that NDEs may emerge as hallucination-like phenomena from a brain in altered states of consciousness (ASCs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Romand
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Günter Ehret
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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13
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Perspective: Present and Future of Virtual Reality for Neurological Disorders. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12121692. [PMID: 36552152 PMCID: PMC9775006 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12121692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the emergence of Virtual Reality technology, it has been adopted in the field of neurology. While Virtual Reality has contributed to various rehabilitation approaches, its potential advantages, especially in diagnosis, have not yet been fully utilized. Moreover, new tides of the Metaverse are approaching rapidly, which will again boost public and research interest and the importance of immersive Virtual Reality technology. Nevertheless, accessibility to such technology for people with neurological disorders has been critically underexplored. Through this perspective paper, we will briefly look over the current state of the technology in neurological studies and then propose future research directions, which hopefully facilitate beneficial Virtual Reality studies on a wider range of topics in neurology.
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14
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Doricchi F, Lasaponara S, Pazzaglia M, Silvetti M. Left and right temporal-parietal junctions (TPJs) as "match/mismatch" hedonic machines: A unifying account of TPJ function. Phys Life Rev 2022; 42:56-92. [PMID: 35901654 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Experimental and theoretical studies have tried to gain insights into the involvement of the Temporal Parietal Junction (TPJ) in a broad range of cognitive functions like memory, attention, language, self-agency and theory of mind. Recent investigations have demonstrated the partition of the TPJ in discrete subsectors. Nonetheless, whether these subsectors play different roles or implement an overarching function remains debated. Here, based on a review of available evidence, we propose that the left TPJ codes both matches and mismatches between expected and actual sensory, motor, or cognitive events while the right TPJ codes mismatches. These operations help keeping track of statistical contingencies in personal, environmental, and conceptual space. We show that this hypothesis can account for the participation of the TPJ in disparate cognitive functions, including "humour", and explain: a) the higher incidence of spatial neglect in right brain damage; b) the different emotional reactions that follow left and right brain damage; c) the hemispheric lateralisation of optimistic bias mechanisms; d) the lateralisation of mechanisms that regulate routine and novelty behaviours. We propose that match and mismatch operations are aimed at approximating "free energy", in terms of the free energy principle of decision-making. By approximating "free energy", the match/mismatch TPJ system supports both information seeking to update one's own beliefs and the pleasure of being right in one's own' current choices. This renewed view of the TPJ has relevant clinical implications because the misfunctioning of TPJ-related "match" and "mismatch" circuits in unilateral brain damage can produce low-dimensional deficits of active-inference and predictive coding that can be associated with different neuropsychological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Doricchi
- Dipartimento di Psicologia 39, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Roma, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Roma, Italy.
| | - Stefano Lasaponara
- Dipartimento di Psicologia 39, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Roma, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Roma, Italy
| | - Mariella Pazzaglia
- Dipartimento di Psicologia 39, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Roma, Italy; Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Roma, Italy
| | - Massimo Silvetti
- Computational and Translational Neuroscience Lab (CTNLab), Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
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15
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Maxwell RW, Katyal S. Characteristics of Kundalini-Related Sensory, Motor, and Affective Experiences During Tantric Yoga Meditation. Front Psychol 2022; 13:863091. [PMID: 35846598 PMCID: PMC9282169 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.863091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional spiritual literature contains rich anecdotal reports of spontaneously arising experiences occurring during meditation practice, but formal investigation of such experiences is limited. Previous work has sometimes related spontaneous experiences to the Indian traditional contemplative concept of kundalini. Historically, descriptions of kundalini come out of Tantric schools of Yoga, where it has been described as a “rising energy” moving within the spinal column up to the brain. Spontaneous meditation experiences have previously been studied within Buddhist and Christian practices and within eclectic groups of contemplative practitioners. Prior explorations of kundalini have emphasized extreme experiences, sometimes having clinical consequences. We conducted a first such investigation of kundalini-related experiences within a sample of meditators from a single Tantric Yoga tradition (known as Ananda Marga) that emphasizes the role of kundalini. We developed a semi-structured questionnaire to conduct an exploratory pilot investigation of spontaneous sensory, motor and affective experiences during meditation practice. In addition to identifying the characteristics of subjective experiences, we measured quantity of meditation, supplemental practices, trait affect and trait mindfulness. We administered it to 80 volunteers at two Ananda Marga retreats. Among reported experiences, we found the highest prevalence for positive mood shifts, followed by motor and then sensory experiences. The frequency of spontaneous experiences was not related to the quantity of practiced meditation or trait measures of mindfulness and affect. Self-reports included multiple descriptions of rising sensations, sometimes being directly called kundalini. Experiences with rising sensations were complex and many included references to positive affect, including ecstatic qualities. There were also reports of spontaneous anomalous experiences. These experiences of rising sensations resemble prior clinical descriptions that were considered kundalini-related. The individuals who reported rising sensations could not be distinguished from other participants based on the incidence of experiences, quantity of meditation practice, or trait measures of mindfulness and affect. In contrast, greater amount of Tantric Yoga meditation practice was associated with greater positive affect, less negative affect and greater mindfulness. Further study of these exploratory findings and how they may be related to spiritual and well-being goals of meditation is warranted along with scientific investigation of purported kundalini phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard W. Maxwell
- Private Practitioner, Ithaca, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Richard W. Maxwell,
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16
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de Boer DML, Namdar F, Lambers M, Cleeremans A. LIVE-streaming 3D images: A neuroscience approach to full-body illusions. Behav Res Methods 2022; 54:1346-1357. [PMID: 34582000 PMCID: PMC9170653 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01659-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Inspired by recent technological advances in the gaming industry, we used capture cards to create and LIVE-stream high quality 3D-images. With this novel technique, we developed a real-life stereoscopic 3D full-body illusion paradigm (3D projection). Unlike previous versions of the full-body illusion that rely upon unwieldy head-mounted displays, this paradigm enables the unobstructed investigation of such illusions with neuroscience methods (e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroencephalography, and near-infrared spectroscopy) and examination of their neural underpinnings. This paper has three aims: (i) to provide a step-by-step guide on how to implement 3D LIVE-streaming, (ii) to explain how this can be used to create a full-body illusion paradigm; and (iii) to present evidence that documents the effectiveness of our methods (de Boer et al., 2020), including suggestions for potential applications. Particularly significant is the fact that 3D LIVE-streaming is not GPU-intensive and can easily be applied to any device or screen that can display 3D images (e.g., TV, tablet, mobile phone). Therefore, these methods also have potential future clinical and commercial benefits. 3D LIVE-streaming could be used to enhance future clinical observations or educational tools, or potentially guide medical interventions with real-time high-quality 3D images. Alternatively, our methods can be used in future rehabilitation programs to aid recovery from nervous system injury (e.g., spinal cord injury, brain damage, limb loss) or in therapies aimed at alleviating psychosis symptoms. Finally, 3D LIVE-streaming could set a new standard for immersive online gaming as well as augmenting online and mobile experiences (e.g., video chat, social sharing/events).
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Affiliation(s)
- D M L de Boer
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, 4059, Australia.
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - F Namdar
- Design doc, Ghent Office, Woodrow Wilsonplein 9, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - M Lambers
- Institute for Vision and Graphics, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany
| | - A Cleeremans
- Consciousness, Cognition, and Computation Group (CO3), Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CP191, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
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Hartelius G, Likova LT, Tyler CW. Self-Regulation of Seat of Attention Into Various Attentional Stances Facilitates Access to Cognitive and Emotional Resources: An EEG Study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:810780. [PMID: 35282214 PMCID: PMC8912941 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study provides evidence supporting the operation of a novel cognitive process of a somatic seat of attention, or ego-center, whose somatic location is under voluntary control and that provides access to differential emotional resources. Attention has typically been studied in terms of what it is directed toward, but it can also be associated with a localized representation in the body image that is experienced as the source or seat of attention-an aspect that has previously only been studied by subjective techniques. Published studies of this phenomenon under terms such as egocenter or self-location suggest that the seat of attention can be situated in various ways within the experienced body, resulting in what are here referred to as different attentional stances. These studies also provide evidence that changes in attentional stance are associated with differences in cognitive skill, emotional temperament, self-construal, and social and moral attitudes, as well as with access to certain states of consciousness. In the present study, EEG results from multiple trials of each of 11 specific attentional stances confirmed that patterns of neural activity associated with the voluntarily control of attentional stances can be reliably measured, providing evidence for a differential neural substrate underlying the subjective location of the seat of attention. Additionally, brain activation patterns for the attentional stances showed strong correlations with EEG signatures associated with specific positive emotional states and with arousal, confirming that differential locations of the seat of attention can be objectively associated with different emotion states, as implied in previous literature. The ability to directly manage the seat of attention into various attentional stances holds substantial potential for facilitating access to specific cognitive and emotional resources in a new way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn Hartelius
- California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Lora T Likova
- Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Scarpina F, Bastoni I, Villa V, Mendolicchio L, Castelnuovo G, Mauro L, Sedda A. Self-perception in anorexia nervosa: When the body becomes an object. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108158. [PMID: 35033502 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Women with anorexia nervosa (AN) act as if they have a larger body, as evidenced in obstacle avoidance tasks, where an allocentric perspective is adopted. This alteration emerges not only when they perform, but also when they imagine movements. However, no previous study has investigated own body centered tasks. As such, in this study we aim at documenting if women with AN show an altered behaviour also when the task requires a first-person perspective. METHOD We explored the performance of eleven woman affected by AN compared to eighteen matched controls, in two motor imagery tasks based on a self-frame of reference, the Hand Laterality Task and the Mental Motor Chronometry Task. Moreover, two control tasks relative to visual imagery were administered. RESULTS In the Hand Laterality Task, affected participants did not adopt a motor strategy to judge hands laterality (i.e. no biomechanical constraints effect). Crucially, they also showed an altered behavior in the control task. Similarly, they did not show the expected isochrony in the Mental Motor Chronometry Task, when actions pertained the left (but not the right) hand, in absence of any difference in the control task. CONCLUSIONS Our findings reveal altered imagery processes in AN. Specifically, affected participants adopt a third-person, rather than a first-person perspective, even when the task requires to imagine their own body in an internal frame of reference. In other words, participants with AN objectify body stimuli. Different mechanisms (i.e., checking behaviour; mirror self-reflection; altered multisensory integration) can explain such an altered imagery in AN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scarpina
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy.
| | - Ilaria Bastoni
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. dei Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Valentina Villa
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. dei Disturbi del Comportamento Alimentare, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Leonardo Mendolicchio
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Gianluca Castelnuovo
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio di Psicologia, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy; Psychology Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Leonardo Mauro
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy; I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Anna Sedda
- Psychology Department, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, UK
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19
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Abstract
Navigating by path integration requires continuously estimating one's self-motion. This estimate may be derived from visual velocity and/or vestibular acceleration signals. Importantly, these senses in isolation are ill-equipped to provide accurate estimates, and thus visuo-vestibular integration is an imperative. After a summary of the visual and vestibular pathways involved, the crux of this review focuses on the human and theoretical approaches that have outlined a normative account of cue combination in behavior and neurons, as well as on the systems neuroscience efforts that are searching for its neural implementation. We then highlight a contemporary frontier in our state of knowledge: understanding how velocity cues with time-varying reliabilities are integrated into an evolving position estimate over prolonged time periods. Further, we discuss how the brain builds internal models inferring when cues ought to be integrated versus segregated-a process of causal inference. Lastly, we suggest that the study of spatial navigation has not yet addressed its initial condition: self-location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA;
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA;
- Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY 11201, USA
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20
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Schettler L, Thomasius R, Paschke K. Neural correlates of problematic gaming in adolescents: A systematic review of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Addict Biol 2022; 27:e13093. [PMID: 34496459 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Problematic gaming in adolescents is associated with neural alterations in structural and functional imaging studies. Especially frontal regions, associated with cognitive control functions, as well as temporoparietal areas, responsible for attention processes and self-concepts, and frontolimbic and subcortical regions, connected to emotion regulation and reward processing, are affected. The differences provide a further explanation for addictive disorders and emphasize the importance of interventions that address executive and cognitive-affective deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie Schettler
- German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence (DZSKJ) University Medical Center Hamburg‐Eppendorf (UKE) Hamburg Germany
| | - Rainer Thomasius
- German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence (DZSKJ) University Medical Center Hamburg‐Eppendorf (UKE) Hamburg Germany
| | - Kerstin Paschke
- German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence (DZSKJ) University Medical Center Hamburg‐Eppendorf (UKE) Hamburg Germany
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21
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Abstract
In the human brain, the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) is a histologically heterogenous area that includes the ventral portions of the parietal cortex and the caudal superior temporal gyrus sector adjacent to the posterior end of the Sylvian fissure. The anatomical heterogeneity of the TPJ is matched by its seemingly ubiquitous involvement in different cognitive functions that span from memory to language, attention, self-consciousness, and social behavior. In line with established clinical evidence, recent fMRI investigations have confirmed relevant hemispheric differences in the TPJ function. Most importantly, the same investigations have highlighted that, in each hemisphere, different subsectors of the TPJ are putatively involved in different cognitive functions. Here I review empirical evidence and theoretical proposals that were recently advanced to gain a unifying interpretation of TPJ function(s). In the final part of the review, a new overarching interpretation of the TPJ function is proposed. Current advances in cognitive neuroscience can provide important insights that help improve the clinical understanding of cognitive deficits experienced by patients with lesions centered in or involving the TPJ area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Doricchi
- Department of Psychology, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Neuropsychology of Attention, I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
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22
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Perret M, Lavallé L, Haesebaert F, Suaud-Chagny MF, Brunelin J, Mondino M. Neuroanatomical correlates of reality monitoring in patients with schizophrenia and auditory hallucinations. Eur Psychiatry 2021; 64:e58. [PMID: 34548121 PMCID: PMC8516745 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.2234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Reality-monitoring process enables to discriminate memories of internally generated information from memories of externally derived information. Studies have reported impaired reality-monitoring abilities in schizophrenia patients with auditory hallucinations (AHs), specifically with an exacerbated externalization bias, as well as alterations in neural activity within frontotemporoparietal areas. In healthy subjects, impaired reality-monitoring abilities have been associated with reduction of the paracingulate sulcus (PCS). The current study aimed to identify neuroanatomical correlates of reality monitoring in patients with schizophrenia. Methods Thirty-five patients with schizophrenia and AHs underwent a reality-monitoring task and a 3D anatomical MRI scan at 1.5 T. PCS lengths were measured separately for each hemisphere, and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses were performed using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (version 12.6) to evaluate the gray-matter volume (GMV). Partial correlation analyses were used to investigate the relationship between reality-monitoring and neuroanatomical outcomes (PCS length and GMV), with age and intracranial volume as covariates. Results The right PCS length was positively correlated with reality-monitoring accuracy (Spearman’s ρ = 0.431, p = 0.012) and negatively with the externalization bias (Spearman’s ρ = −0.379, p = 0.029). Reality-monitoring accuracy was positively correlated with GMV in the right angular gyrus, whereas externalization bias was negatively correlated with GMV in the left supramarginal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus, in the right lingual gyrus and in the bilateral inferior temporal/fusiform gyri (voxel-level p < 0.001 and cluster-level p < 0.05, FDR-corrected). Conclusions Reduced reality-monitoring abilities were significantly associated with shorter right PCS and reduced GMV in temporal and parietal regions of the reality-monitoring network in schizophrenia patients with AHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Perret
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Layla Lavallé
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Frédéric Haesebaert
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Marie-Françoise Suaud-Chagny
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Jérôme Brunelin
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Marine Mondino
- INSERM, U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Psychiatric Disorders: from Resistance to Response Team, LyonF-69000, France.,University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne F-69000, France.,Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
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23
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Hosokawa K, Usami K, Kajikawa S, Shimotake A, Tatsuoka Y, Ikeda A, Takahashi R. [Migraine with multiple visual symptoms and out-of-body experience may mimic epilepsy]. Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2021; 61:530-536. [PMID: 34275950 DOI: 10.5692/clinicalneurol.cn-001577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The patient was an 18-year-old man who had suffered from various visual symptoms as follows since he was 17 years old: 1) a diagonal line appeared in his visual field, shifting his upper field of view to the right and his lower field of view to the left; 2) his whole vision seemed distorted with ripples; and 3) black spots covered parts of his visual field and moved up and down. These visual symptoms were followed by out-of-body experience (OBE), which he felt as seeing his own body apart from his left back. Headache attacks followed these symptoms. On brain MRI, bilateral occipital atrophy was suspected. An electroencephalogram showed intermittent irregular delta in the bilateral occipital area. No epileptiform discharges were observed. We finally diagnosed him as having migraine with multiple visual auras and OBE. He was very well treated with a small dose of valproic acid which he tolerated well. OBE rarely occurs in migraine and should be distinguished from epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyoko Hosokawa
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Kiyohide Usami
- Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Shunsuke Kajikawa
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Akihiro Shimotake
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
| | | | - Akio Ikeda
- Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Ryosuke Takahashi
- Department of Neurology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
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24
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Blondiaux E, Heydrich L, Blanke O. Common and distinct brain networks of autoscopic phenomena. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 30:102612. [PMID: 33714069 PMCID: PMC7970131 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Autoscopic phenomena (AP) are illusory own body reduplications characterized by the visual perception of a second own body in extrapersonal space, and include three main forms: autoscopic hallucination (AH), heautoscopy (HAS) and out-of-body-experience (OBE). Past research showed that lesions were heterogeneously distributed and affected many different brain regions within and across patients, while small case series suggested that AP lesions converge in temporo-parietal and parieto-occipital cortex. As only few studies investigated each form of AP separately, it remains unknown whether the three AP are characterized by common and distinct brain mechanisms. METHODS Here, we applied lesion network analysis in 26 neurological AP patients and determined their common and distinct functional connectivity patterns. RESULTS We report that all localize to a single common brain network at the bilateral temporo-parietal junction, further associated with specific patterns of functional connectivity, defining each type of AP. OBE resulted from a brain network connected to bilateral angular gyrus, right precuneus, and right inferior frontal gyrus, differing from AH with a brain network connected to bilateral precuneus, inferior temporal gyrus, and cerebellum. HAS resulted from a brain network connected to left inferior frontal gyrus, left insula and left parahippocampus. CONCLUSION The present data identify the temporo-parietal junction as the common core region for AP and show that each form of AP recruits additional specific networks, associated with different sensorimotor and self-related sub-networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Blondiaux
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland
| | - Lukas Heydrich
- CORE Lab, Psychosomatic Competence Center, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
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25
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Guterstam A, Larsson DEO, Szczotka J, Ehrsson HH. Duplication of the bodily self: a perceptual illusion of dual full-body ownership and dual self-location. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201911. [PMID: 33489299 PMCID: PMC7813251 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that it is possible to use multisensory stimulation to induce the perceptual illusion of owning supernumerary limbs, such as two right arms. However, it remains unclear whether the coherent feeling of owning a full-body may be duplicated in the same manner and whether such a dual full-body illusion could be used to split the unitary sense of self-location into two. Here, we examined whether healthy human participants can experience simultaneous ownership of two full-bodies, located either close in parallel or in two separate spatial locations. A previously described full-body illusion, based on visuo-tactile stimulation of an artificial body viewed from the first-person perspective (1PP) via head-mounted displays, was adapted to a dual-body setting and quantified in five experiments using questionnaires, a behavioural self-location task and threat-evoked skin conductance responses. The results of experiments 1-3 showed that synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation of two bodies viewed from the 1PP lying in parallel next to each other induced a significant illusion of dual full-body ownership. In experiment 4, we failed to find support for our working hypothesis that splitting the visual scene into two, so that each of the two illusory bodies was placed in distinct spatial environments, would lead to dual self-location. In a final exploratory experiment (no. 5), we found preliminary support for an illusion of dual self-location and dual body ownership by using dynamic changes between the 1PPs of two artificial bodies and/or a common third-person perspective in the ceiling of the testing room. These findings suggest that healthy people, under certain conditions of multisensory perceptual ambiguity, may experience dual body ownership and dual self-location. These findings suggest that the coherent sense of the bodily self located at a single place in space is the result of an active and dynamic perceptual integration process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvid Guterstam
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Joanna Szczotka
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - H. Henrik Ehrsson
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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26
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A causal role for the right angular gyrus in self-location mediated perspective taking. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19229. [PMID: 33154491 PMCID: PMC7645586 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76235-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent theories suggest that self-consciousness, in its most elementary form, is functionally disconnected from the phenomenal body. Patients with psychosis frequently misattribute their thoughts and actions to external sources; and in certain out-of-body experiences, lucid states, and dreams body-ownership is absent but self-identification is preserved. To explain these unusual experiences, we hypothesized that self-identification depends on inferring self-location at the right angular gyrus (i.e., perspective-taking). This process relates to the discrimination of self-produced signals (endogenous attention) from environmental stimulation (exogenous attention). Therefore, when this mechanism fails, this causes altered sensations and perceptions. We combined a Full-body Illusion paradigm with brain stimulation (HD-tDCS) and found a clear causal association between right angular gyrus activation and alterations in self-location (perspective-taking). Anodal versus sham HD-tDCS resulted in: a more profound out-of-body shift (with reduced sense of agency); and a weakened ability to discriminate self from other perspectives. We conclude that self-identification is mediated in the brain by inferring self-location (i.e., perspective-taking). Self-identification can be decoupled from the bodily self, explaining phenomena associated with disembodiment. These findings present novel insights into the relationship between mind and body, and may offer important future directions for treating psychosis symptoms and rehabilitation programs to aid in the recovery from a nervous system injury. The brain's ability to locate itself might be the key mechanism for self-identification and distinguishing self from other signals (i.e., perspective-taking).
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27
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Fingelkurts AA, Fingelkurts AA, Kallio-Tamminen T. Selfhood triumvirate: From phenomenology to brain activity and back again. Conscious Cogn 2020; 86:103031. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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28
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Mota-Rolim SA, Bulkeley K, Campanelli S, Lobão-Soares B, de Araujo DB, Ribeiro S. The Dream of God: How Do Religion and Science See Lucid Dreaming and Other Conscious States During Sleep? Front Psychol 2020; 11:555731. [PMID: 33123040 PMCID: PMC7573223 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Lucid dreaming (LD) began to be scientifically studied in the last century, but various religions have highlighted the importance of LD in their doctrines for a much longer period. Hindus’ manuscripts dating back over 2,000 years ago, for example, divide consciousness in waking, dreaming (including LD), and deep sleep. In the Buddhist tradition, Tibetan monks have been practicing the “Dream Yoga,” a meditation technique that instructs dreamers to recognize the dream, overcome all fears when lucid, and control the oneiric content. In the Islamic sacred scriptures, LD is regarded as a mental state of great value, and a special way for the initiated to reach mystical experiences. The Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) mentions LD as a kind of preview of the afterlife, when the soul separates from the body. In the nineteenth century, some branches of the Spiritism religion argue that LD precedes out-of-body experiences during sleep. Here we reviewed how these religions interpret dreams, LD and other conscious states during sleep. We observed that while Abrahamic monotheisms (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) recognize dreams as a way to communicate with God to understand the present and predict the future, the traditional Indian religions (Buddhism and Hinduism) are more engaged in cultivating self-awareness, thus developed specific techniques to induce LD and witnessing sleep. Teachings from religious traditions around the world offer important insights for scientific researchers today who want to understand the full range of LD phenomenology as it has emerged through history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio A Mota-Rolim
- Brain Institute - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.,Physiology and Behavior Department - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.,Onofre Lopes University Hospital - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Kelly Bulkeley
- The Sleep and Dream Database - Portland, OR, United States
| | - Stephany Campanelli
- Biophysics and Pharmacology Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Bruno Lobão-Soares
- Biophysics and Pharmacology Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Draulio B de Araujo
- Brain Institute - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.,Onofre Lopes University Hospital - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Sidarta Ribeiro
- Brain Institute - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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29
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Neural correlates of conscious tactile perception: An analysis of BOLD activation patterns and graph metrics. Neuroimage 2020; 224:117384. [PMID: 32950689 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of human consciousness substantially vary in the proposed spatial extent of brain activity associated with conscious perception as well as in the assumed functional alterations within the involved brain regions. Here, we investigate which local and global changes in brain activity accompany conscious somatosensory perception following electrical finger nerve stimulation, and whether there are whole-brain functional network alterations by means of graph metrics. Thirty-eight healthy participants performed a somatosensory detection task and reported their decision confidence during fMRI. For conscious tactile perception in contrast to undetected near-threshold trials (misses), we observed increased BOLD activity in the precuneus, the intraparietal sulcus, the insula, the nucleus accumbens, the inferior frontal gyrus and the contralateral secondary somatosensory cortex. For misses compared to correct rejections, bilateral secondary somatosensory cortices, supplementary motor cortex and insula showed greater activations. The analysis of whole-brain functional network topology for hits, misses and correct rejections, did not result in any significant differences in modularity, participation, clustering or path length, which was supported by Bayes factor statistics. In conclusion, for conscious somatosensory perception, our results are consistent with an involvement of (probably) domain-general brain areas (precuneus, insula, inferior frontal gyrus) in addition to somatosensory regions; our data do not support the notion of specific changes in graph metrics associated with conscious experience. For the employed somatosensory submodality of fine electrical current stimulation, this speaks for a global broadcasting of sensory content across the brain without substantial reconfiguration of the whole-brain functional network resulting in an integrative conscious experience.
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30
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Canu E, Agosta F, Tomic A, Sarasso E, Petrovic I, Piramide N, Svetel M, Inuggi A, D Miskovic N, Kostic VS, Filippi M. Breakdown of the affective-cognitive network in functional dystonia. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:3059-3076. [PMID: 32243055 PMCID: PMC7336141 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies suggested that brain regions subtending affective‐cognitive processes can be implicated in the pathophysiology of functional dystonia (FD). In this study, the role of the affective‐cognitive network was explored in two phenotypes of FD: fixed (FixFD) and mobile dystonia (MobFD). We hypothesized that each of these phenotypes would show peculiar functional connectivity (FC) alterations in line with their divergent disease clinical expressions. Resting state fMRI (RS‐fMRI) was obtained in 40 FD patients (12 FixFD; 28 MobFD) and 43 controls (14 young FixFD‐age‐matched [yHC]; 29 old MobFD‐age‐matched [oHC]). FC of brain regions of interest, known to be involved in affective‐cognitive processes, and independent component analysis of RS‐fMRI data to explore brain networks were employed. Compared to HC, all FD patients showed reduced FC between the majority of affective‐cognitive seeds of interest and the fronto‐subcortical and limbic circuits; enhanced FC between the right affective‐cognitive part of the cerebellum and the bilateral associative parietal cortex; enhanced FC of the bilateral amygdala with the subcortical and posterior cortical brain regions; and altered FC between the left medial dorsal nucleus and the sensorimotor and associative brain regions (enhanced in MobFD and reduced in FixFD). Compared with yHC and MobFD patients, FixFD patients had an extensive pattern of reduced FC within the cerebellar network, and between the majority of affective‐cognitive seeds of interest and the sensorimotor and high‐order function (“cognitive”) areas with a unique involvement of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex connectivity. Brain FC within the affective‐cognitive network is altered in FD and presented specific features associated with each FD phenotype, suggesting an interaction between brain connectivity and clinical expression of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Canu
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Agosta
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Aleksandra Tomic
- Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Elisabetta Sarasso
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Igor Petrovic
- Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Noemi Piramide
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Marina Svetel
- Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Alberto Inuggi
- Unit of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Natasa D Miskovic
- Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vladimir S Kostic
- Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Massimo Filippi
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.,Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neurophysiology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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31
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Martínez-Horta S, Perez-Perez J, Pagonabarraga J, Sampedro F, Horta-Barba A, Blanke O, Kulisevsky J. Autoscopic phenomena as an atypical psychiatric presentation of Huntington's disease: A case report including longitudinal clinical and neuroimaging data. Cortex 2020; 125:299-306. [PMID: 32113044 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a monogenetic neurodegenerative disease prototypically characterized by the progressive presentation of motor abnormalities, cognitive deterioration and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Even when the disorder is diagnosed based on the presence of unequivocal motor symptoms, subtle cognitive and behavioral changes emerge decades before the first motor manifestations. Here we present the atypical case of a young premanifest gene-mutation carrier who developed progressive complex autoscopic phenomena (feelings of presence, out of body experience, and heautoscopic hallucinations). To our knowledge, this is the first report of these symptoms in the context of HD. Considering the availability of serial neurologic, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data collected before and after the presentation of these symptoms, this case provides new insights into the brain mechanisms leading to autoscopic phenomena and atypical phenotypes that may occur in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saul Martínez-Horta
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ulm, Germany; European Huntington's Disease Network (EHDN), Ulm, Germany
| | - Jesús Perez-Perez
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ulm, Germany; European Huntington's Disease Network (EHDN), Ulm, Germany
| | - Javier Pagonabarraga
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain
| | - Frederic Sampedro
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain
| | - Andrea Horta-Barba
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ulm, Germany; European Huntington's Disease Network (EHDN), Ulm, Germany
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jaime Kulisevsky
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ulm, Germany; European Huntington's Disease Network (EHDN), Ulm, Germany.
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32
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Martial C, Cassol H, Laureys S, Gosseries O. Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:173-183. [PMID: 31982302 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Forty-five years ago, the first evidence of near-death experience (NDE) during comatose state was provided, setting the stage for a new paradigm for studying the neural basis of consciousness in unresponsive states. At present, the state of consciousness associated with NDEs remains an open question. In the common view, consciousness is said to disappear in a coma with the brain shutting down, but this is an oversimplification. We argue that a novel framework distinguishing awareness, wakefulness, and connectedness is needed to comprehend the phenomenon. Classical NDEs correspond to internal awareness experienced in unresponsive conditions, thereby corresponding to an episode of disconnected consciousness. Our proposal suggests new directions for NDE research, and more broadly, consciousness science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Martial
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau (Centre intégré pluridisciplinaire de l'étude du cerveau, de la cognition et de la conscience), University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
| | - Héléna Cassol
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau (Centre intégré pluridisciplinaire de l'étude du cerveau, de la cognition et de la conscience), University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau (Centre intégré pluridisciplinaire de l'étude du cerveau, de la cognition et de la conscience), University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Olivia Gosseries
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Centre du Cerveau (Centre intégré pluridisciplinaire de l'étude du cerveau, de la cognition et de la conscience), University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
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33
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Hiromitsu K, Shinoura N, Yamada R, Midorikawa A. Dissociation of the subjective and objective bodies: Out-of-body experiences following the development of a posterior cingulate lesion. J Neuropsychol 2019; 14:183-192. [PMID: 31863565 PMCID: PMC7078974 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
An out‐of‐body experience (OBE) is a phenomenon whereby an individual views his/her body and the world from a location outside the physical body. Previous studies have suggested that the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the brain region responsible for integrating multisensory signals, is responsible for OBE development. Here, however, we first present a case of OBE after brain tumour development in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The patient was a 46‐year‐old right‐handed female; she underwent brain surgery. She reported that she had experienced OBEs several times monthly (during daily life) before surgery but never after surgery. She defined her OBEs explicitly; she drew pictures. Her OBEs exhibited phenomenological, overt dissociation of the subjective and objective bodies. We discuss the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and the relationship between OBEs and the PCC in terms of anatomical and functional brain connectivity. Our case sheds some light on the mechanism involved in creating spatial (dis)unity between the self and the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Hiromitsu
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo, Japan.,Institute of Cultural Sciences, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobusada Shinoura
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryoji Yamada
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akira Midorikawa
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
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Peinkhofer C, Dreier JP, Kondziella D. Semiology and Mechanisms of Near-Death Experiences. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 2019; 19:62. [PMID: 31352520 DOI: 10.1007/s11910-019-0983-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Near-death experiences (NDEs) are conscious perceptual experiences, including self-related emotional, spiritual, and mystical experiences, occurring in close encounters with death or in non-life-threatening situations. The origin of NDEs remains unknown. Here, we review recent advances in the understanding of NDE semiology and pathophysiology. RECENT FINDINGS Recent prospective studies confirm that NDEs reflect a spectrum of highly distinctive memories which are associated with negative or positive emotions and can be influenced by the nature of the causal event, but the temporal sequence with which these images unfold is variable. Some drugs, notably ketamine, may lead to experiences that are similar or even identical to NDEs. New models extend previous neural network theories and include aspects of evolutionary and quantum theories. Although the factual existence of NDEs is no longer doubted and the semiology well-described, a pathophysiological model that includes all aspects of NDEs is still lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costanza Peinkhofer
- Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Medical Faculty, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Jens P Dreier
- Center for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Experimental Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel Kondziella
- Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark. .,Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Technology and Science, Trondheim, Norway. .,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Medeiros GTD, Silveira FDA. Definição de Experiência Fora do Corpo a partir de Relatos de Experiências Similares. PSICOLOGIA: TEORIA E PESQUISA 2019. [DOI: 10.1590/0102.3772e35421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Resumo Diversas abordagens foram utilizadas para entender as Experiências Fora do Corpo (EFC), contudo, não há consenso sobre sua etiologia, definição e características constitutivas. Este artigo buscou comparar definições de EFC com experiências semelhantes, não consideradas como EFC por seus protagonistas. Treze participantes narraram experiências durante entrevistas semiestruturadas, as quais foram submetidas à análise de conteúdo. Três participantes descreveram experiências que se enquadram a três categorias de EFCs distintas. O não reconhecimento da experiência como EFC esteve relacionado à atribuição de causalidade e crenças paranormais e religiosas. Tais dados sugerem a necessidade de separação entre a definição da experiência e sua atribuição de causalidade, bem como uma abordagem multietiológica e fenomenológica no estudo de EFC.
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36
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Bréchet L, Grivaz P, Gauthier B, Blanke O. Common Recruitment of Angular Gyrus in Episodic Autobiographical Memory and Bodily Self-Consciousness. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:270. [PMID: 30487740 PMCID: PMC6246737 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Parietal cortex and adjacent parts of the temporal cortex have recently been associated with bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Similarly, growing evidence suggests that the lateral parietal cortex is crucial for the subjective aspects of episodic autobiographical memory (EAM), which is based on the conscious experience of reliving past events. However, the neuroanatomical relationship between both fundamental aspects remains currently unexplored. Moreover, despite the wealth of neuroimaging data on EAM, only few neuroimaging studies have examined BSC and even fewer examined those aspects of BSC that are most closely related to EAM. Here, we investigated whether regions in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) that have been involved in spatial aspects of BSC (self-location and first-person perspective), as described by Ionta et al. (2011) are also active in studies investigating autobiographical memory. To examine this relation, we thus compared the regions indicated in the study by Ionta et al. (2011) based on data in healthy participants and neurological patients, with the results from a meta-analytical study we performed based on functional neuroimaging studies on EAM and semantic autobiographical memory (SAM). We report an anatomical overlap bilaterally in the angular gyrus (AG), but not in other parietal or temporal lobe structures between BSC and EAM. Moreover, there was no overlap between BSC and SAM. These preliminary data suggest that the bilateral AG may be a key structure for the conscious re-experiencing of past life episodes (EAM) and the conscious on-line experience of being located and experiencing the world in first-person (BSC).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Bréchet
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Petr Grivaz
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Baptiste Gauthier
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
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37
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Michailidis L, Balaguer-Ballester E, He X. Flow and Immersion in Video Games: The Aftermath of a Conceptual Challenge. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1682. [PMID: 30233477 PMCID: PMC6134042 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most pleasurable aspects of video games is their ability to induce immersive experiences. However, there appears to be a tentative conceptualization of what an immersive experience is. In this short review, we specifically focus on the terms of flow and immersion, as they are the most widely used and applied definitions in the video game literature, whilst their differences remain disputable. We critically review the concepts separately and proceed with a comparison on their proposed differences. We conclude that immersion and flow do not substantially differ in current studies and that more evidence is needed to justify their separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lazaros Michailidis
- Bournemouth University, Centre for Digital Entertainment, Department of Media and Communication, Bournemouth, United Kingdom.,Sony Interactive Entertainment, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emili Balaguer-Ballester
- Bournemouth University, Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth, United Kingdom.,Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience Heidelberg-Mannheim, Manheim, Germany
| | - Xun He
- Bournemouth University, Department of Psychology, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
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Facco E. Ipnosi ed esperienze di premorte nel continuum delle espressioni non ordinarie della mente. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.3280/ipn2018-001002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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39
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Otero-Millan J, Winnick A, Kheradmand A. Exploring the Role of Temporoparietal Cortex in Upright Perception and the Link With Torsional Eye Position. Front Neurol 2018; 9:192. [PMID: 29681880 PMCID: PMC5897546 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Upright perception is a key aspect of orientation constancy, as we maintain a stable perception of the world despite continuous movements of our eyes, head, and body. Torsional position of the eyes can impact perception of upright by changing orientation of the images on the retina relative to gravity. Here, we investigated the role of temporoparietal cortex in upright perception with respect to ocular torsion, by means of the inhibitory effect of continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We used a subjective visual vertical (SVV) paradigm to track changes in upright perception, and a custom video method to track ocular torsion simultaneously. Twelve participants were tested during a lateral head tilt of 20° to the left. TMS at the posterior aspect of the supramarginal gyrus (SMGp) resulted in an average SVV shift in the opposite direction of the head tilt compared to a sham stimulation (1.8°). Ocular torsion following TMS at SMGp showed no significant change compared to the sham stimulation (-0.1°). Thus, changes in upright perception at SMGp were dissociated from ocular torsion. This finding suggests that perception of upright at SMGp is primarily related to sensory processing for spatial orientation, as opposed to subcortical regions that have direct influence on ocular torsion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Otero-Millan
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Ariel Winnick
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Amir Kheradmand
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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40
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Sensory overload and imbalance: Resting-state vestibular connectivity in PTSD and its dissociative subtype. Neuropsychologia 2017; 106:169-178. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Revised: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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41
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Oscillatory brain mechanisms of the hypnotically-induced out-of-body experience. Cortex 2017; 96:19-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 06/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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42
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Kheradmand A, Winnick A. Perception of Upright: Multisensory Convergence and the Role of Temporo-Parietal Cortex. Front Neurol 2017; 8:552. [PMID: 29118736 PMCID: PMC5660972 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We inherently maintain a stable perception of the world despite frequent changes in the head, eye, and body positions. Such "orientation constancy" is a prerequisite for coherent spatial perception and sensorimotor planning. As a multimodal sensory reference, perception of upright represents neural processes that subserve orientation constancy through integration of sensory information encoding the eye, head, and body positions. Although perception of upright is distinct from perception of body orientation, they share similar neural substrates within the cerebral cortical networks involved in perception of spatial orientation. These cortical networks, mainly within the temporo-parietal junction, are crucial for multisensory processing and integration that generate sensory reference frames for coherent perception of self-position and extrapersonal space transformations. In this review, we focus on these neural mechanisms and discuss (i) neurobehavioral aspects of orientation constancy, (ii) sensory models that address the neurophysiology underlying perception of upright, and (iii) the current evidence for the role of cerebral cortex in perception of upright and orientation constancy, including findings from the neurological disorders that affect cortical function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Kheradmand
- Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Ariel Winnick
- Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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43
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Igelström KM, Graziano MS. The inferior parietal lobule and temporoparietal junction: A network perspective. Neuropsychologia 2017; 105:70-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 12/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/02/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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44
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Nakul E, Lopez C. Commentary: Out-of-Body Experience during Awake Craniotomy. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:417. [PMID: 28871221 PMCID: PMC5566977 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Nakul
- Centre National de la Recherhe Scientifique (LNIA, FR3C), Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseille, France
| | - Christophe Lopez
- Centre National de la Recherhe Scientifique (LNIA, FR3C), Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseille, France
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45
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Van Ombergen A, Wuyts FL, Jeurissen B, Sijbers J, Vanhevel F, Jillings S, Parizel PM, Sunaert S, Van de Heyning PH, Dousset V, Laureys S, Demertzi A. Intrinsic functional connectivity reduces after first-time exposure to short-term gravitational alterations induced by parabolic flight. Sci Rep 2017; 7:3061. [PMID: 28607373 PMCID: PMC5468234 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03170-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Spaceflight severely impacts the human body. However, little is known about how gravity and gravitational alterations affect the human brain. Here, we aimed at measuring the effects of acute exposure to gravity transitions. We exposed 28 naïve participants to repetitive alterations between normal, hyper- and microgravity induced by a parabolic flight (PF) and measured functional MRI connectivity changes. Scans were acquired before and after the PF. To mitigate motion sickness, PF participants received scopolamine prior to PF. To account for the scopolamine effects, 12 non-PF controls were scanned prior to and after scopolamine injection. Changes in functional connectivity were explored with the Intrinsic Connectivity Contrast (ICC). Seed-based analysis on the regions exhibiting localized changes was subsequently performed to understand the networks associated with the identified nodes. We found that the PF group was characterized by lower ICC scores in the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ), an area involved in multisensory integration and spatial tasks. The encompassed network revealed PF-related decreases in within- and inter-hemispheric anticorrelations between the rTPJ and the supramarginal gyri, indicating both altered vestibular and self-related functions. Our findings shed light on how the brain copes with gravity transitions, on gravity internalization and are relevant for the understanding of bodily self-consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelique Van Ombergen
- Antwerp University Research Centre for Equilibrium and Aerospace (AUREA), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Floris L Wuyts
- Antwerp University Research Centre for Equilibrium and Aerospace (AUREA), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Ben Jeurissen
- Vision Lab, Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jan Sijbers
- Vision Lab, Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Floris Vanhevel
- Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital & University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Steven Jillings
- Antwerp University Research Centre for Equilibrium and Aerospace (AUREA), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Paul M Parizel
- Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital & University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Stefan Sunaert
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Imaging & Pathology, Translational MRI, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paul H Van de Heyning
- Antwerp University Research Centre for Equilibrium and Aerospace (AUREA), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Vincent Dousset
- University of Bordeaux, CHU de Bordeaux, INSERM Magendie, Bordeaux, France
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Research & Neurology Department, University and University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Athena Demertzi
- Coma Science Group, GIGA-Research & Neurology Department, University and University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière - Brain and Spine Insititute, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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46
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Salomon
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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47
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Huang HC, Lee YT, Chen WY, Liang C. The Sense of 1PP-Location Contributes to Shaping the Perceived Self-location Together with the Sense of Body-Location. Front Psychol 2017; 8:370. [PMID: 28352241 PMCID: PMC5348511 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-location—the sense of where I am in space—provides an experiential anchor for one's interaction with the environment. In the studies of full-body illusions, many researchers have defined self-location solely in terms of body-location—the subjective feeling of where my body is. Although this view is useful, there is an issue regarding whether it can fully accommodate the role of 1PP-location—the sense of where my first-person perspective is located in space. In this study, we investigate self-location by comparing body-location and 1PP-location: using a head-mounted display (HMD) and a stereo camera, the subjects watched their own body standing in front of them and received tactile stimulations. We manipulated their senses of body-location and 1PP-location in three different conditions: the participants standing still (Basic condition), asking them to move forward (Walking condition), and swiftly moving the stereo camera away from their body (Visual condition). In the Walking condition, the participants watched their body moving away from their 1PP. In the Visual condition, the scene seen via the HMD was systematically receding. Our data show that, under different manipulations of movement, the spatial unity between 1PP-location and body-location can be temporarily interrupted. Interestingly, we also observed a “double-body effect.” We further suggest that it is better to consider body-location and 1PP-location as interrelated but distinct factors that jointly support the sense of self-location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsu-Chia Huang
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Tung Lee
- Department of Philosophy, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yeo Chen
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Caleb Liang
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Department of Philosophy, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
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Research on Experiences Related to the Possibility of Consciousness Beyond the Brain: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Scientific Output. J Nerv Ment Dis 2017; 205:37-47. [PMID: 27922909 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This study aims to conduct a search of publications investigating experiences commonly associated with the possibility of the existence of a consciousness independent of the brain held on the main scientific databases (Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Scopus). Of the 9065 articles retrieved, 1954 were included (598 near-death experiences, 223 out-of-body experiences, 56 end-of-life experiences, 224 possession, 244 memories suggestive of past lives, 565 mediumship, 44 others). Over the decades, there was an evident increase in the number of articles on all the areas of the field, with the exception of studies on mediumship that showed a decline during the late 20th century and subsequent rise in the early 21st century. Regarding the types of articles found, with the exception of past-life memories and end-of-life experiences (mostly original studies), publications were predominantly review articles. The articles were published in journals with an impact factor similar to other areas of science.
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49
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Perceived social isolation is associated with altered functional connectivity in neural networks associated with tonic alertness and executive control. Neuroimage 2017; 145:58-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
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50
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Dor-Ziderman Y, Ataria Y, Fulder S, Goldstein A, Berkovich-Ohana A. Self-specific processing in the meditating brain: a MEG neurophenomenology study. Neurosci Conscious 2016; 2016:niw019. [PMID: 30397512 PMCID: PMC6210398 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niw019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 08/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-specific processes (SSPs) specify the self as an embodied subject and agent, implementing a functional self/nonself distinction in perception, cognition, and action. Despite recent interest, it is still undetermined whether SSPs are all-or-nothing or graded phenomena; whether they can be identified in neuroimaging data; and whether they can be altered through attentional training. These issues are approached through a neurophenomenological exploration of the sense-of-boundaries (SB), the fundamental experience of being an 'I' (self) separated from the 'world' (nonself). The SB experience was explored in collaboration with a uniquely qualified meditation practitioner, who volitionally produced, while being scanned by magnetoencephalogram (MEG), three mental states characterized by a graded SB experience. The results were then partly validated in an independent group of 10 long-term meditators. Implicated neural mechanisms include right-lateralized beta oscillations in the temporo-parietal junction, a region known to mediate the experiential unity of self and body; and in the medial parietal cortex, a central node of the self's representational system. The graded nature as well as the trainable flexibility and neural plasticity of SSPs may hold clinical implications for populations with a disturbed SB.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yochai Ataria
- Neurobiology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tel-Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Stephen Fulder
- Founder, Senior Teacher, Israel Insight Society (Tovana), Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Psychology Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
- Faculty of Education, The Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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