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Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral Peripheral Vestibular Damage and Deficient Multisensory Integration

Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral... Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are illusory perceptions of one’s body from an elevated disembodied perspective. Recent theories postulate a double disintegration process in the personal (visual, proprioceptive and tactile disintegration) and extrapersonal (visual and vestibular disintegration) space as the basis of OBEs. Here we describe a case which corroborates and extends this hypothesis. The patient suffered from peripheral vestibular damage and presented with OBEs and lucid dreams. Analysis of the patient’s behaviour revealed a failure of visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that have previously been shown to experimentally induce out-of-body illusions (in healthy subjects). In light of these experimental findings and the patient’s symptomatology we extend an earlier model of the role of vestibular signals in OBEs. Our results advocate the involvement of subcortical bodily mechanisms in the occurrence of OBEs. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Multisensory Research (continuation of Seeing & Perceiving from 2013) Brill

Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral Peripheral Vestibular Damage and Deficient Multisensory Integration

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References (74)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Subject
Articles
ISSN
2213-4794
eISSN
2213-4808
DOI
10.1163/22134808-00002506
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are illusory perceptions of one’s body from an elevated disembodied perspective. Recent theories postulate a double disintegration process in the personal (visual, proprioceptive and tactile disintegration) and extrapersonal (visual and vestibular disintegration) space as the basis of OBEs. Here we describe a case which corroborates and extends this hypothesis. The patient suffered from peripheral vestibular damage and presented with OBEs and lucid dreams. Analysis of the patient’s behaviour revealed a failure of visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that have previously been shown to experimentally induce out-of-body illusions (in healthy subjects). In light of these experimental findings and the patient’s symptomatology we extend an earlier model of the role of vestibular signals in OBEs. Our results advocate the involvement of subcortical bodily mechanisms in the occurrence of OBEs.

Journal

Multisensory Research (continuation of Seeing & Perceiving from 2013)Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2015

Keywords: Out-of-body experiences; multisensory integration; vestibular; temporo-parietal junction; lucid dreams

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