Epilepsy Talk

People Talk About Their Out-Of-Body Experiences

Alterations of consciousness are critical factors in the diagnosis of epileptic seizures. Some people report sensations of separating from the physical body, experiences that may, in rare cases, resemble spontaneous out-of-body experiences.

New research has linked these experiences to instabilities in the temporal lobe, and to errors in the body’s sense of itself — even in healthy individuals.

With simple partial seizures, some people report having out-of-body experiences. Time may seem distorted as well.

These out-of-body experiences (OBE) can vary from person to person, but they often involve the sense of floating above one’s actual body and looking down. For neuroscientists, the phenomenon is a puzzle and an opportunity: Understanding how the brain goes awry can also illuminate how it is supposed to work.

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