Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) can be simulated in virtual reality, but how body orientation affects these illusions is unclear. In a within-group experiment, 30 participants embodied a full-body virtual avatar from a first-person perspective, then experienced a virtual OBE by switching to a third-person view raised 14 meters above the avatar. Participants performed a mental ball dropping (MBD) task at baseline and during the OBE. MBD durations were longer when participants were lying supine compared to standing. Subjective reports confirmed previous virtual OBE findings, but body ownership did not differ between the two postures. The results contribute to understanding the vestibular system and time perception during OBEs.
Most people experience dreams from a first-person perspective (82%) rather than a third-person perspective (18%). Regardless of perspective, dreamers typically perceive other dream characters within close peripersonal space—either 0–90 cm or 90–180 cm—rather than farther away (180–270 cm). Dream characters are most often seen from eye level (0° viewing angle) rather than above or below. The intensity of bodily self-consciousness in dreams is higher among those who habitually see other characters closer to their dream self. These findings provide a phenomenological account of spatial representation and felt presence of others in dreams, suggesting that peripersonal space coding and self-other distinction operate similarly in dreaming and waking states.
Bodily self-consciousness—the awareness of one's own body—depends on how the brain dynamically processes and integrates multisensory signals such as vestibular and somatosensory information. Recent research shows that the perception of body parts and the whole body can shift based on whether signals from different senses are congruent. This article reviews experimental methods used to study bodily self-consciousness, discusses the underlying sensory processes, and identifies limitations in prior studies.