Out-of-body experiences can be induced by stimulating a part of the brain called the right angular gyrus, Swiss researchers have discovered. They think a dysfunction in this region could account for the experience of leaving and floating above the body reported by some surgical and psychiatric patients.
鈥淔or the first time, we have shown that this kind of feeling can be provoked by interference with a specific brain region,鈥� says Margitta Seeck of Geneva University Hospital, who was involved in the research.
The right angular gyrus is close to areas involved in vision, hearing, balance and touch. The researchers think it could be responsible for integrating sensory information about the body, and that a failure to perform this task correctly could account for out of body experiences (OBEs).
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The angular gyrus is particularly susceptible to a drop in blood pressure, as happens during anaesthesia, she points out. 鈥淚t is in a frontier region between two vascular systems. If you have problems with arterial pressure this area is less nourished. Maybe that 鈥榯ickles鈥� it 鈥� and that could be the underlying mechanism for OBEs,鈥� she told New 杏吧原创.
Christopher French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths College, London, says the discovery is 鈥渧ery interesting 鈥� but it raises as many questions as it answers鈥�.
Short legs
The Swiss team stumbled across the finding while mapping the brain of a patient with epilepsy, prior to surgery. The woman had suffered partial seizures for 11 years.
The angular gyrus was not linked to the epilepsy but initial stimulations to the region produced unusual balance-related experiences. The patient reported 鈥渟inking into the bed鈥� or 鈥渇alling from a height鈥�. Increasing the current led to a full OBE: 鈥淚 see myself lying in bed, from above, but I only see my legs and lower trunk.鈥�
Further stimulation while she watched her own limbs resulted in experiences of her arms and legs being shortened.
The finding should reassure people who experience OBEs, Seeck thinks. 鈥淪ome people who experience it fear they might be sent to the nearest psychiatric hospital. We should now be thinking also about a physical classification for this type of experience.鈥�
According to French, one in 10 people worldwide report experiencing an OBE at some point in their lives. 鈥淥ne question that results from this finding is whether all OBEs involve abnormal activation of the angular gyrus,鈥� he says. Out of body experiences can occur in a range of situations, but particularly when a person is relaxed, or during a near-death experience, he points out.