Touched By an Angel (in the lab)
Scientists have successfully recreated a beloved staple of cable talk shows (no, not trailer trash family feuds). We’re talking about the light at the end of the tunnel.
Out-of-body experiences are right up there with alien abductions in American lowbrow lore: as many as 1 in 10 people claim to have had one. Many are attributable to the use of certain hallucinogenic drugs. Trauma, stroke, and epilepsy can also trigger an OBE.
Two recent studies have furthered our understanding of consciousness and the physiological mechanism that triggers the sensation of an OBE. In the first study, seated participants wore virtual reality goggles with separate live video feeds (of themselves) for each eye (the feeds were filmed from about 8 feet away). Neuroscientist Dr. Henrik Ehrsson prodded each participant’s chest with a plastic poker and simultaneously appeared to do so for the virtual image. And just like magic…out of the body you go! The second study manipulated participants virtually, and this time, they used a hammer. The participants were duly freaked out.
Dr. Ehrsson: “It reveals the basic mechanism that produces the feeling of being inside the physical body. This represents a significant advance because the experience of one’s own body as the center of awareness is a fundamental aspect of self-consciousness.”
Despite recreating the OBE, the good doctor has no interest in finding the light. The purpose of these studies was to further our understanding of consciousness.
Source: CNN
Further reading: Paranormal Story Archives
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POSTED IN: Oddities, Science, WOO hoo!, Your Body, Your Mind
1 opinion for Touched By an Angel (in the lab)
atkins
Dec 27, 2007 at 5:06 am
atkins
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