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Brief Communications
Nature 419, 269-270 (19 September 2002) | doi:10.1038/419269a
Neuropsychology: Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions
Olaf Blanke1,2, Stphanie Ortigue2, Theodor Landis2 & Margitta Seeck1
Abstract
'Out-of-body' experiences (OBEs) are curious, usually brief sensations in which a person's consciousness seems to become detached from the body and take up a remote viewing position1, 2, 3. Here we describe the repeated induction of this experience by focal electrical stimulation of the brain's right angular gyrus in a patient who was undergoing evaluation for epilepsy treatment. Stimulation at this site also elicited illusory transformations of the patient's arm and legs (complex somatosensory responses) and whole-body displacements (vestibular responses), indicating that out-of-body experiences may reflect a failure by the brain to integrate complex somatosensory and vestibular information1, 2, 3.
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