Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Paranormal

Scientists Unlock Mystery of Out-of-Body Experiences (OOBEs)

Scientists Unlock Mystery of Out-of-Body Experiences (OOBEs) 1

Can scientists really explain OOBEs? The Sploid blog at Gizmodo reports that they can…

Some people claim that they have experienced out-of-body experiences—aka “astral trips”—floating outside of their bodies and watching themselves from the outside. A team of scientists found someone who says she can do this at will and put her into a brain scanner. What they discovered was surprisingly strange.

Andra M. Smith and Claude Messierwere from the University of Ottawa described this subject’s ability in their paper, published in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience:

She was able to see herself rotating in the air above her body, lying flat, and rolling along with the horizontal plane. She reported sometimes watching herself move from above but remained aware of her unmoving “real” body. The participant reported no particular emotions linked to the experience.

How the hell is this possible? Can it be real? The researchers found that something dramatic, and consistent with her account, was happening in her brain: The fMRI showed a “strong deactivation of the visual cortex” while “activating the left side of several areas associated with kinesthetic imagery,” which includes mental imagery of bodily movement. This is the part of the brain that makes it possible for us to interact with the world. It’s what makes you feel where your body is in relation to the world.

This is the very first time that this type of experience has been analyzed and documented scientifically. Researchers know that out-of-body experiences can be induced ”by brain traumas, sensory deprivation, near-death experiences, dissociative and psychedelic drugs, dehydration, sleep, and electrical stimulation of the brain, among others. It can also be deliberately induced by some.” But this may be the first documented case of someone who can get into this state at will…

{continues at Sploid blog at Gizmodo]

Comments

You May Also Like

Spirituality

Speaking from his experiences working in an ER and witnessing death first hand, then going on to work in end of life care with...

Fact or fiction

Cheryl Eddy Some might argue that everything that passes for “paranormal” is a hoax. (There’s no fun in that, but insist if you must.)...

Paranormal

By Dr. Paul Myths and folklore from all over the world inform us of people with supernatural abilities who walked among us. Whether their...

Paranormal

by Joe Martino Michael Shermer is a well respected man amongst his community. He is the founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist...

Metaphysics & Psychology

In the 21st Century, why do so many people still believe in the paranormal? David Robson discovers that there’s good reason we hold superstitions...

Occult

Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent Stories about black masses leaked to press in effort to link paramilitary attacks to the paranormal, study reveals British military...

Paranormal

There’s nothing quite like watching an insanely creepy video late at night when you’re trying to get some shut eye. The Internet is filled...

Metaphysics & Psychology

By Michael Shermer Often I am asked if I have ever encountered something that I could not explain. What my interlocutors have in mind...

Advertisement