Abstract Experiences in which the sense of the body becomes distorted offer a unique window into how the brain constructs the bodily self. Despite their clinical relevance in conditions such as depersonalization and body-image disorders, large-scale brain dynamics underlying unusual bodily experiences (UBEs) remain poorly understood, and no prior study has examined them systematically across...
Unusual bodily experiences (UBEs) are illusory bodily perceptions that are not coherent with typical wakeful experiences, including flying or floating sensations, body distortions, and out-of-body experiences. This study examines UBEs in a controlled sleep laboratory using meditation and light stimulation to facilitate their occurrence. A total of N = 35 healthy participants underwent...
Unusual bodily experiences (UBEs) are illusory perceptions involving the body and its surroundings, such as body distortions and out-of-body experiences. This study examines UBEs in a controlled sleep laboratory using meditation and light stimulation to facilitate their occurrence. A total of N=35 healthy participants underwent high-density EEG with additional EMG, EOG, and ECG recordings....
During most dreams, the dreamer does not realize that they are in a dream. In contrast, lucid dreaming allows to become aware of the current state of mind, often accompanied by considerable control over the ongoing dream episode. Lucid dreams can happen spontaneously or be induced through diverse behavioural, cognitive or technological strategies. Such induction techniques have spurred research...
The scientific study of lucid sleep, defined as the ability to retain critical self-awareness during ongoing sleep, has traditionally focused on lucid dreaming and induction techniques that specifically target REM sleep. Recently, interest has grown to include other forms of lucid sleep, such as out-of-body experiences, sleep paralysis, and “witnessing-sleep” episodes described in Indian...
Diese Dissertation untersucht, wie Realität während des Schlafs und in Übergangszuständen zwischen Wachsein und Schlaf wahrgenommen wird. Sie stellt vor: (1) ein konzeptionelles Modell zu außerkörperlichen Erfahrungen, Schlafparalyse und luzidem Träumen, (2) ein Induktionsprotokoll, (3) phänomenologische Analyse, (4) Schlaf-Staging, und (5) EEG-Korrelate. Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass...
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Little is known about the neurophysiology of spontaneous OBEs, which are often reported by healthy individuals as occurring during states of reduced vigilance, particularly in proximity to or during sleep (sleep-related OBEs). In this paper, we review the current state of...
Out-of body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Evidence supports that OBEs triggered by electrical stimulation and epileptic seizures are associated with disrupted brain activity in a distributed network centred at the temporo-parietal junction and the resulting multisensory disruption of body representation. However,...
Recent years have seen a heightened focus on the study of minimal forms of awareness during sleep to advance the study of consciousness and understand what makes a state conscious. This focus draws on an increased interest in anecdotical descriptions made by classic Indian philosophical traditions about unusual forms of awareness during sleep. For instance, in the so-called state of...
The scientific study of lucid sleep (to retain critical self-awareness during ongoing sleep) has traditionally been focused on lucid dreaming and induction techniques primarily targeting REM sleep. Recently, there has been increasing interest in other forms of lucid sleep, such as certain episodes of sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences reported during sleep, and episodes of...