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Case Reports
. 2002 Sep 19;419(6904):269-70.
doi: 10.1038/419269a.

Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions

Olaf Blanke  1 , Stéphanie Ortigue, Theodor Landis, Margitta Seeck
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Free article
Case Reports

Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions

Olaf Blanke et al. Nature. .
Free article

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 position. 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 information.

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