Mental representation of space: insights from an oblique distribution of hallucinations.
Todd A. Girard, Désirée L M A Martius, J Allan Cheyne
Neuropsychologia March 25, 2007 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.10.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | Hallucinations during sleep paralysis show an oblique bias toward lower-left and especially upper-right external space beyond what an additive model of separate horizontal and vertical biases predicts. |
Abstract
Three-dimensional spatial distributions of hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations associated with sleep paralysis were used to investigate the internal representation of space. Left-right asymmetries in human preferences and abilities are well established. Parallel effects are also observed as lower-upper asymmetries. These parallels could reflect common underlying mechanisms or additive effects of independently evolved horizontal and vertical asymmetries. This study adds to the growing literature on multidimensional spatial biases in a context free from the influence of task-related factors. We present evidence of an oblique bias in the projection of both sensory and motor hallucinations toward lower-left and especially upper-right external space exceeding that accounted for by an additive model of separate horizontal and vertical biases. These observations are consistent with theories regarding a systematic functional relation of hemispheric with ventral and dorsal cerebral organization.
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- The seahorse, the almond, and the night-mare: elaborative encoding during sleep-paralysis hallucinations? Behavioral and Brain Sciences December 2013
- Signs of increased cortical hyperexcitability selectively associated with spontaneous anomalous bodily experiences in a nonclinical population. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry February 26, 2013
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- The body unbound: Vestibular–motor hallucinations and out-of-body experiences Cortex June 6, 2008
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