The secret behind "Out-of-Body" experiences - [science] - GoFuckYourself.com

TTiger · 11-05-2007, 03:47 AM

Scientists Spot Brain Center for 'Out-of-Body' Experience
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 31 (HealthDay News) -- New research is taking a little of the mystery out of the phenomenon known as the "out-of-body" experience.

A team of Belgian scientists have linked the sense of disembodiment central to the experience -- the feeling of leaving one's body and then floating outside it -- to abnormal activity in a specific region of the brain.
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This activity appears to short-circuit the processing of sensory information and the ability to locate oneself in time and space, the team said.

"Self-perception is nothing else but a creation of your brain," explained study lead author and neurosurgeon Dr. Dirk De Ridder, of the neurosurgical department at Antwerp University. "We found a key spot in the brain in which different areas are normally activated whenever stimulus comes in, so you can relate that stimulus to yourself, which helps create a unified perception of ourselves."

"The 'total perception of self,' " he added, "is built out of different parts. And one of these parts is that your consciousness belongs within your body."

"But when something goes wrong in that brain area so that the integration of all the incoming information -- sight, sound, smell, the senses -- is not happening as it should, then you can feel that you're not in your body," De Ridder said. "You can get an out-of-body experience. You're perfectly conscious. But you just feel as if you're not actually sitting in your body."

His team reported its finding in the Nov. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

De Ridder's team discovered what they believe is a hardwired connection between the out-of-body experience and specific abnormal brain activity. They did so while observing the unanticipated side-effects of a treatment offered to a 63-year-old Belgian patient suffering from tinnitus, more commonly known as "ringing in the ears."

To alleviate his condition, doctors had implanted electrodes in a region in the right side of the man's brain known as the temporoparietal junction.

Unfortunately, stimulation of the electrodes failed to halt the ear-ringing. However, in the process of doing so, the attending physicians found that the patient repeatedly experienced what he described as an out-of-body experience.

By monitoring the use of a patient-controlled button pressed at the start and end of each experience, researchers found that within one second following electrode stimulation to the brain, out-of-body experiences were provoked -- each lasting from 15 to 21 seconds an episode.

While at no time causing any alteration in his sense of consciousness, during each episode, the patient consistently reported feeling disembodied to a specific location -- namely about 20 inches behind his body and to the left. The perception remained the same, regardless of whether the patient was standing or lying down during electrode stimulation.

At no time did the patient report the sense that he was watching his actual body from another place -- a phenomenon known as autoscopy. Rather, he said that throughout each out-of-body episode, he visually perceived the world as usual -- from the vantage point of his actual body. At the same time, however, he continued to feel as if his body was located elsewhere.

During repeated actual and false (placebo) stimulations, the researchers conducted 12 PET scans of the patient's brain.

The scans revealed that throughout each out-of-body episode, brain activity spiked in two areas surrounding the electrode implant: a small area where the angular gyrus meets the supramarginal gyrus, and in the rear section of the superior temporal cortex.

The former area is known for being associated with integrating sensory stimulus -- such as sight, sound, and touch -- in order to establish head and body orientation in space.

The latter area is known to be integral to the forming of a so-called "map" of self-perception -- a key ingredient in establishing self-consciousness.

The researchers concluded that electrode stimulation of these two areas seems to alter a person's spatial self-perception, while leaving global self-consciousness -- the ability to perceive the surrounding world -- untouched. The result: an out-of-body experience.

However, they cautioned that while epileptics, patients suffering from migraines and tinnitus, and those undergoing a near-death experience have all been known to spontaneously experience out-of-body episodes, it remains unclear whether pro-actively stimulating the two identified cranial areas -- which don't normally activate in unison -- would induce a similar experience in healthy individuals.

"It's fairly rare," said De Ridder. "It might be possible to trigger this experience -- and even likely -- in a normal brain, and mess up the normal integration of the functions, the senses. But we're not sure yet."

"It's fascinating," commented Paul Sanberg, a distinguished university professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair with the University of South Florida's College of Medicine in Tampa.

"This gives a physiological mechanism for out-of-body experiences under different conditions," he said. "And, it points out that our sense of self isn't just our cognitive abilities and our emotions, but it's also our sense of time and space."

"So, I imagine if you can stimulate a part of the brain that has been found to control where we are in space and orientation and our sense of body, it could give a sense of being out of our body," he said. "It could give us a sense that we are somewhere else. Perhaps not a real out-of-body experience. But a perceptual experience, nonetheless."

SOURCES: Dirk De Ridder, M.D., neurosurgeon, neurosurgical department, Antwerp University, Belgium; Paul Sanberg, Ph.D., distinguished university professor and director, Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, University of South Florida, College of Medicine, Tampa; Nov. 1, 2007, New England Journal of Medicine

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=84921

scouser · 11-05-2007, 03:54 AM

ketamine for real out of body experiences ;)

bobby666 · 11-05-2007, 04:36 AM

some nice infos here

who · 11-05-2007, 04:43 AM

That was very interesting, thank you.

hateman · 11-05-2007, 04:57 AM

I dont know about this science stuff, but let me tell you, i have had OBE before, and it's as real as a heart attack.

I remember sitting in a chair, and across from me was sitting another me.

I had a though then: "how the hell can I be at two places at the same time?

It was real as fuck.

No joke.

TTiger · 11-05-2007, 03:16 PM

hateman can you tell us more about your story?6 this is kinda creepy

dav3 · 11-05-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hateman

I dont know about this science stuff, but let me tell you, i have had OBE before, and it's as real as a heart attack.

I remember sitting in a chair, and across from me was sitting another me.

I had a though then: "how the hell can I be at two places at the same time?

It was real as fuck.

No joke.

Were you, by chance, heavily under the influence of anything? I'm not trying to be a smart ass either. I had a similar experience, but I was ripped off my ass.

I think the key to it, is that your brain is programmed, from the day you are born to function a certain way in this 'reality'. But if you 'trick' the brain hard enough, it can do amazing things.

loreen · 11-05-2007, 04:34 PM

I don't know how this is news... I read it about 3-4 years ago (that if you stimulate a certain part of the brain you can "artificially" provoke out of body experiences - including meeting with Jesus/Buddha/..., dead family, friends, etc...)

jigg · 11-05-2007, 04:44 PM

Quote:

he said that throughout each out-of-body episode, he visually perceived the world as usual -- from the vantage point of his actual body. At the same time, however, he continued to feel as if his body was located elsewhere.

bunk
that's not an out of body experience.
nice way to claim disproval and pat themselves on the back though.

from what I've experienced twice and what some of my friends who work as surgeons and nurses have told me it is hardly in the brain. and definitely not what's described as an out of body experience by these dudes

11-05-2007, 03:47 AM	#1
TTiger Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: quebec, canada Posts: 3,030	The secret behind "Out-of-Body" experiences - [science] Scientists Spot Brain Center for 'Out-of-Body' Experience By Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Oct. 31 (HealthDay News) -- New research is taking a little of the mystery out of the phenomenon known as the "out-of-body" experience. A team of Belgian scientists have linked the sense of disembodiment central to the experience -- the feeling of leaving one's body and then floating outside it -- to abnormal activity in a specific region of the brain. Latest MedicineNet News * Health Highlights: Oct. 18, 2007 * Studies Probe Weaknesses in Donated Blood * Serious Injury Rare with Police Tasers * Restroom Study Finds Hand Washing on the Decline * Stem Cells From Testes, Wide Range of Tissue This activity appears to short-circuit the processing of sensory information and the ability to locate oneself in time and space, the team said. "Self-perception is nothing else but a creation of your brain," explained study lead author and neurosurgeon Dr. Dirk De Ridder, of the neurosurgical department at Antwerp University. "We found a key spot in the brain in which different areas are normally activated whenever stimulus comes in, so you can relate that stimulus to yourself, which helps create a unified perception of ourselves." "The 'total perception of self,' " he added, "is built out of different parts. And one of these parts is that your consciousness belongs within your body." "But when something goes wrong in that brain area so that the integration of all the incoming information -- sight, sound, smell, the senses -- is not happening as it should, then you can feel that you're not in your body," De Ridder said. "You can get an out-of-body experience. You're perfectly conscious. But you just feel as if you're not actually sitting in your body." His team reported its finding in the Nov. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. De Ridder's team discovered what they believe is a hardwired connection between the out-of-body experience and specific abnormal brain activity. They did so while observing the unanticipated side-effects of a treatment offered to a 63-year-old Belgian patient suffering from tinnitus, more commonly known as "ringing in the ears." To alleviate his condition, doctors had implanted electrodes in a region in the right side of the man's brain known as the temporoparietal junction. Unfortunately, stimulation of the electrodes failed to halt the ear-ringing. However, in the process of doing so, the attending physicians found that the patient repeatedly experienced what he described as an out-of-body experience. By monitoring the use of a patient-controlled button pressed at the start and end of each experience, researchers found that within one second following electrode stimulation to the brain, out-of-body experiences were provoked -- each lasting from 15 to 21 seconds an episode. While at no time causing any alteration in his sense of consciousness, during each episode, the patient consistently reported feeling disembodied to a specific location -- namely about 20 inches behind his body and to the left. The perception remained the same, regardless of whether the patient was standing or lying down during electrode stimulation. At no time did the patient report the sense that he was watching his actual body from another place -- a phenomenon known as autoscopy. Rather, he said that throughout each out-of-body episode, he visually perceived the world as usual -- from the vantage point of his actual body. At the same time, however, he continued to feel as if his body was located elsewhere. During repeated actual and false (placebo) stimulations, the researchers conducted 12 PET scans of the patient's brain. The scans revealed that throughout each out-of-body episode, brain activity spiked in two areas surrounding the electrode implant: a small area where the angular gyrus meets the supramarginal gyrus, and in the rear section of the superior temporal cortex. The former area is known for being associated with integrating sensory stimulus -- such as sight, sound, and touch -- in order to establish head and body orientation in space. The latter area is known to be integral to the forming of a so-called "map" of self-perception -- a key ingredient in establishing self-consciousness. The researchers concluded that electrode stimulation of these two areas seems to alter a person's spatial self-perception, while leaving global self-consciousness -- the ability to perceive the surrounding world -- untouched. The result: an out-of-body experience. However, they cautioned that while epileptics, patients suffering from migraines and tinnitus, and those undergoing a near-death experience have all been known to spontaneously experience out-of-body episodes, it remains unclear whether pro-actively stimulating the two identified cranial areas -- which don't normally activate in unison -- would induce a similar experience in healthy individuals. "It's fairly rare," said De Ridder. "It might be possible to trigger this experience -- and even likely -- in a normal brain, and mess up the normal integration of the functions, the senses. But we're not sure yet." "It's fascinating," commented Paul Sanberg, a distinguished university professor and director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair with the University of South Florida's College of Medicine in Tampa. "This gives a physiological mechanism for out-of-body experiences under different conditions," he said. "And, it points out that our sense of self isn't just our cognitive abilities and our emotions, but it's also our sense of time and space." "So, I imagine if you can stimulate a part of the brain that has been found to control where we are in space and orientation and our sense of body, it could give a sense of being out of our body," he said. "It could give us a sense that we are somewhere else. Perhaps not a real out-of-body experience. But a perceptual experience, nonetheless." SOURCES: Dirk De Ridder, M.D., neurosurgeon, neurosurgical department, Antwerp University, Belgium; Paul Sanberg, Ph.D., distinguished university professor and director, Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, University of South Florida, College of Medicine, Tampa; Nov. 1, 2007, New England Journal of Medicine http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=84921 __________________

11-05-2007, 04:36 AM	#3
bobby666 boots are my religion Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Heart of europe Posts: 21,765	some nice infos here __________________

11-05-2007, 03:16 PM	#6
TTiger Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: quebec, canada Posts: 3,030	hateman can you tell us more about your story?6 this is kinda creepy __________________

11-05-2007, 04:34 PM	#8
loreen myadultdesign.com Industry Role: Join Date: May 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 12,558	I don't know how this is news... I read it about 3-4 years ago (that if you stimulate a certain part of the brain you can "artificially" provoke out of body experiences - including meeting with Jesus/Buddha/..., dead family, friends, etc...) __________________ Banners, logos, headers, peels, FHGs, ads, paysites, photo retouching etc: my adult design portfolio My logo portfolio: PornLogos.com

11-05-2007, 03:54 AM	#2
scouser marketer. Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: bcn Posts: 2,280	ketamine for real out of body experiences ;)

11-05-2007, 04:43 AM	#4
who So Fucking Banned Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ICQ #23642053 Posts: 19,593	That was very interesting, thank you.

11-05-2007, 04:57 AM	#5
hateman So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,623	I dont know about this science stuff, but let me tell you, i have had OBE before, and it's as real as a heart attack. I remember sitting in a chair, and across from me was sitting another me. I had a though then: "how the hell can I be at two places at the same time? It was real as fuck. No joke.