Illusory Reduplication of One's Own Body: Phenomenology and Classification of Autoscopic Phenomena.
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry February 1, 1997 P Brugger, M Regard, T Landis
Autoscopic phenomena are experiences where a person perceives a duplicate of their own body. The scientific literature on these phenomena is scattered and uses inconsistent terminology. This article proposes a new classification scheme based on how these experiences feel to the person. It describes the main features of several types: autoscopic hallucinations, heautoscopy, the feeling of a presence, out-of-body experiences, and negative and inner forms. The article also explains why these phenomena should be distinguished from other conditions like reduplicative paramnesias and misidentification syndromes. Finally, it suggests that a concept called the neuromatrix could be a starting point for understanding the brain mechanisms behind these experiences.