These new findings tend to support my OBE
hypothesis: http://IanGoddard.net/paranorm.htmhttp://users.erols.com/igoddard/paranorm.htmhttp://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99992819
Brain probe triggers out-of-body experiences
19:00 18 September 02
Emma Young
Out-of-body experiences can be induced by stimulating a part of
the brain called the right angular gyrus, Swiss researchers have
discovered. They think a dysfunction in this region could account
for the experience of leaving and floating above the body reported
by some surgical and psychiatric patients.
"For the first time, we have shown that this kind of feeling can
be provoked by interference with a specific brain region," says
Margitta Seeck of Geneva University Hospital, who was involved in
the research.
The right angular gyrus is close to areas involved in vision, hearing,
balance and touch. The researchers think it could be responsible for
integrating sensory information about the body, and that a failure to
perform this task correctly could account for out of body experiences
(OBEs).
The angular gyrus is particularly susceptible to a drop in blood
pressure, as happens during anaesthesia, she points out. "It is in
a frontier region between two vascular systems. If you have problems
with arterial pressure this area is less nourished. Maybe that
'tickles' it - and that could be the underlying mechanism for OBEs,"
she told New Scientist.
Christopher French, head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit
at Goldsmiths College, London, says the discovery is "very interesting
- but it raises as many questions as it answers".
Short legs
The Swiss team stumbled across the finding while mapping the brain
of a patient with epilepsy, prior to surgery. The woman had suffered
partial seizures for 11 years.
The angular gyrus was not linked to the epilepsy but initial
stimulations to the region produced unusual balance-related
experiences. The patient reported "sinking into the bed" or "falling
from a height". Increasing the current led to a full OBE: "I see
myself lying in bed, from above, but I only see my legs and lower
trunk."
Further stimulation while she watched her own limbs resulted in
experiences of her arms and legs being shortened.
The finding should reassure people who experience OBEs, Seeck thinks.
"Some people who experience it fear they might be sent to the nearest
psychiatric hospital. We should now be thinking also about a physical
classification for this type of experience."
According to French, one in 10 people worldwide report experiencing an
OBE at some point in their lives. "One question that results from this
finding is whether all OBEs involve abnormal activation of the angular
gyrus," he says. Out of body experiences can occur in a range of
situations, but particularly when a person is relaxed, or during a
near-death experience, he points out.
http://IanGoddard.net
Out-of-Body Explanation: http://iangoddard.net/paranorm.htm
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