Out-of-body experience in the anterior insular cortex during the intracranial electrodes stimulation in an epileptic child.

Stimulating the anterior insular cortex (AIC) with intracranial electrodes triggered an out-of-body experience (OBE) in a child with intractable epilepsy. After destroying specific sites in the left AIC using radiofrequency thermocoagulation, the patient's seizures stopped and the OBE could no longer be reproduced by stimulating those sites. This is the first reported case of an OBE originating from the AIC. The authors analyze how OBEs typically arise from the temporo-parietal junction and propose two possible mechanisms by which the AIC might cause the experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The authors present a case of an out-of- body experience (OBE) that occurred in a child with intractable epilepsy when stimulating the anterior insular cortex (AIC) by intracranial electrodes. After destroying several sites precisely located at the left AIC by radiofrequency thermocoagulation, the patient's seizures disappeared, and the OBE could not be reproduced when repeatedly stimulating these sites. To our knowledge, it has never been reported that an OBE occurred in the AIC. We analyze the mechanism of an OBE mostly appearing in temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and propose two perspectives for a possible mechanism involving the AIC causing the OBE.