Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral Peripheral Vestibular Damage and Deficient Multisensory Integration.
Mariia Kaliuzhna, Dominique Vibert, Petr Grivaz, Olaf Blanke
Multisensory Research 2015 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002506 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | One patient with peripheral vestibular damage who reported out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams |
| Keywords | Humans Illusions Self concept Dreams Body image Visual perception Adult Male Vestibule, labyrinth |
| Key findings | Argues that out-of-body experiences can arise from a double disintegration process involving both personal space (visual, proprioceptive, tactile) and extrapersonal space (visual, vestibular), and that subcortical bodily mechanisms are involved. The patient showed failed visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that experimentally induce out-of-body illusions. |
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are illusory perceptions of one's body from an elevated disembodied perspective. Recent theories postulate a double disintegration process in the personal (visual, proprioceptive and tactile disintegration) and extrapersonal (visual and vestibular disintegration) space as the basis of OBEs. Here we describe a case which corroborates and extends this hypothesis. The patient suffered from peripheral vestibular damage and presented with OBEs and lucid dreams. Analysis of the patient's behaviour revealed a failure of visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that have previously been shown to experimentally induce out-of-body illusions (in healthy subjects). In light of these experimental findings and the patient's symptomatology we extend an earlier model of the role of vestibular signals in OBEs. Our results advocate the involvement of subcortical bodily mechanisms in the occurrence of OBEs.
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Predictive coding, multisensory integration, and attentional control: A multicomponent framework for lucid dreaming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 1, 2022
- Out of body experiences: Scoping review. Explore June 4, 2025
- Out-of-body experience in vestibular disorders - A prospective study of 210 patients with dizziness. Cortex July 1, 2018
- Spontaneous Thought, Insight, and Control in Lucid Dreams Oxford Handbooks Online April 5, 2018
- Modulation of vection latencies in the full-body illusion. PLoS One 2018
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