Visualizing out-of-body experience in the brain
Open accessAbstract
An out-of-body experience was repeatedly elicited during stimulation of the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus on the right side in a patient in whom electrodes had been implanted to suppress tinnitus. Positron-emission tomographic scanning showed brain activation at the temporoparietal junction--more specifically, at the angular-supramarginal gyrus junction and the superior temporal gyrus-sulcus on the right side. Activation was also noted at the right precuneus and posterior thalamus, extending into the superior vermis. We suggest that activation of these regions is the neural correlate of the disembodiment that is part of the out-of-body experience.
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More recent EBS studies confirmed the role of the superior temporal cortex and temporo-parietal junction in self location and embodiment.
“In line with earlier work by Penfield, more recent EBS studies confirmed the role of the superior temporal cortex and temporo‐parietal junction in self location and embodiment.”
From Neural bases of the bodily self as revealed by electrical brain stimulation: A systematic review (2023) · cites this paper as De Ridder et al., 2007
The Summary reports that stimulation of the right posterior superior temporal gyrus repeatedly elicited an out-of-body experience in one patient, while PET showed activation at the temporoparietal junction. It describes the involvement of these regions in disembodiment and abnormal self-location as a suggestion, so the claim that EBS studies “confirmed” their role is stronger than this paper's conclusion. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThis is compatible with clinical data in which both types of dissociations have been observed in patients with heautoscopy or out-of-body experiences (i.e. a patient experienced the visual weak 1PP at the position of his body, but self-location 2 m behind his body as represented).
“This is compatible with clinical data [23,38,51,58] in which both types of dissociations have been observed in patients with heautoscopy or out-of-body experiences (i.e. a patient [51] experienced the visual weak 1PP at the position of his body, but self-location 2 m behind his body as represented).”
From Full-body illusions and minimal phenomenal selfhood (2009) · cites this paper as [51]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFor out-of-body experiences, damage was localized primarily in right temporo-parietal cortex.
“For out-of-body experiences, damage was localized primarily in right temporo-parietal cortex (n= 12[27,51])”
From Full-body illusions and minimal phenomenal selfhood (2009) · cites this paper as [51]
The Results (page unavailable) locate brain activity during an induced out-of-body experience at the right temporoparietal junction. But this was PET imaging of one patient, not a finding that damage was localized there in 12 cases; the paper supports the anatomical association, not the damage or count attributed to it. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe origin of the weak 1PP can be spatially dissociated from self-location.
“The origin of the weak 1PP can be spatially dissociated from self-location as indicated by a recent study using electrical brain stimulation [51].”
From Full-body illusions and minimal phenomenal selfhood (2009) · cites this paper as [51]
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Cites
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“…comes from observations in neurological patients suffering from out-of-body experience who show a three-way disembodiment of their bodily selfconsciousness (Devinsky et al., 1989; Blanke et al., 2002, 2004; Brandt et al., 2005; De Ridder et al., 2007; Ionta et al., 2011; Pfeiffer et al., 2013).”
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“In the same vein, clinical observations of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) suggest that localized cortical lesions can induce pathological changes of first-person perspective and self-location in space (Blanke et al., 2002, 2004; Blanke and Mohr, 2005; De Ridder et al., 2007).”
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“…al., 2007, 2009) brain imaging (Arzy et al., 2006; Ionta et al., 2011) and clinical evidence (Brugger et al., 1997; Blanke et al., 2004; Blanke and Mohr, 2005; De Ridder et al., 2007) about three aspects of bodily self-consciousness: selflocation, first-person perspective, and self-identification.”
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“For empirical examples demonstrating how both aspects can be functionally dissociated, suspending the embedding principle, see De Ridder et al., 2007; Ehrsson, 2007; Lenggenhager et al., 2007. www.frontiersin.org October 2013 | Volume 4 | Article 746 | 3 arises because there is no measure of the…”
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“Interfering with the temporoparietal junction by electrical stimulation has also been showed to induce both OBE and vestibular sensations (Penfield, 1955; Blanke et al., 2002; De Ridder et al., 2007).”
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“…sense of bodily orientation in space among individuals experiencing depersonalization states, a finding consistent with the results of previous studies suggesting altered functioning of the supramarginal gyrus during induced out-of-body experiences (De Ridder et al., 2008; Lopez et al., 2008).”
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“ciated with a facilitated feeling of disembodiment(22)—a feeling that has been related to neural activity in the right middle frontal gyrus, the precentral gyrus, and the thalamus.(39) These regions showed an”
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“Experiencing dissociation of self from the body might thus relate to failure to integrate complex somatosensory and vestibular cues (Blanke et al., 2002; Blanke and Arzy, 2005; De Ridder et al., 2007).”
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“Diseases characterized by bursting that have already been treated consist of tinnitus [14,15] and multiple pain syndromes including myelopathic pain, diabetic neuropathic pain, phantom pain and anesthesia dolorosa as well as FBSS [7–9,59], and in a rare case report where a patient developed a reversible and controllab…”
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“Neuroimaging (Lopez et al., 2008) and neurostimulation (De Ridder et al., 2005) studies reveal that stimulation/lesions to bilateral temporo-parietal junctions and orbito-parietal cortices (Lopez et al., 2008) may result in the autoscopic phenomenon.”
The brain, obesity and addiction: an EEG neuroimaging study
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“Statistical parametric maps are projected onto the mean normalized structural image at P< 0.001, uncorrected, with a cluster extent threshold of 5 voxels.”
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“Disrupting this region during waking with magnetic [50] or electrical [51] stimulation can induce out-of-body experiences, defined as a subjective sensation of being outside one’s own body, which may occur with or without viewing the own body [49,52].”
BackgroundNeural bases of the bodily self as revealed by electrical brain stimulation: A systematic review
Dary, Z., Lenggenhager, B., Lagarde, S., Medina Villalon, S., Bartolomei, F., & Lopez, C. (2023) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.26253 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Semiology and Mechanisms of Near-Death Experiences
Peinkhofer, C., Dreier, J. P., & Kondziella, D. (2019) · Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports · doi:10.1007/s11910-019-0983-2 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Metzinger, T. K. (2024) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/15196.001.0001 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Binding body and self in visuo‐vestibular conflicts
Macauda, G., Bertolini, G., Palla, A., Straumann, D., Brugger, P., & Lenggenhager, B. (2014) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.12809 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“…as an increasing number of clinical observations have suggested a critical role of visuo-vestibular integration for binding body and self (e.g. Devinsky et al., 1989; Blanke et al., 2002, 2004; Blanke, 2004; Brandt et al., 2005; De Ridder et al., 2007; Ionta et al., 2011; Mazzola et al., 2014).”
BackgroundBlanke, O., Ionta, S., Fornari, E., Möhr, C., & Maeder, P. P. (2010) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-010-0138-x · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“…of brain activation with respect to upper and full bodies has also been found following electrical cortical stimulation (Blanke et al. 2002; De Ridder et al. 2007) and is concordant with clinical data from patients with illusory own body perceptions such as out-of-body experiences and…”
ResultCognitive, Systems, and Computational Neurosciences of the Self in Motion
Noel, J., & Angelaki, D. E. (2021) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-021021-103038 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“In both studies participants reported subjective experiences somewhat akin to out-of-body experiences (Blanke et al. 2004, De Ridder et al. 2007).”
Selfhood triumvirate: From phenomenology to brain activity and back again
Fingelkurts, A. A., Fingelkurts, A. A., & Kallio-Tamminen, T. (2020) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2020.103031 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Langguth, B., & Ridder, D. D. (2013) · Handbook of clinical neurology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53497-2.00036-x · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“In two other studies, single sessions of burst stimulation were compared with tonic stimulation (De Ridder et al., 2007b, c).”
The vestibular component in out-of-body experiences: a computational approach
Schwabe, L. (2008) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/neuro.09.017.2008 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“…by multisensory mismatch of bodily information (Ehrsson, 2007; Lenggenhager et al., 2007) and that self-location depends on temporoparietal activity (Arzy et al., 2006) compatible with neurological data (Blanke et al., 2004; De Ridder et al., 2007; Devinsky et al., 1989; Maillard et al., 2004).”
BackgroundInfluentialKittleson, A. R., Woodward, N. D., Heckers, S., & Sheffield, J. M. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105643 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“…states selectively activates multiple insula regions: one, more posterior, that is closely related to the somatosensory system, and another further ante-riorly that is tightly linked to a region of VLPFC implicated in emotional regulation of autonomic responses (De Ridder et al., 2007) (see Fig.”
Bodily self-consciousness and its disorders
Ronchi, R., Park, H.-D., & Blanke, O. (2018) · Handbook of clinical neurology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-63622-5.00015-2 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Braithwaite, J. J., Broglia, E., Bagshaw, A. P., & Wilkins, A. J. (2011) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2011.11.013 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“…are consistent with recent accounts proposing that the OBE may occur due to a temporary dysfunction in multi-sensory integration processes that may reside primarily in the temporo-parietal region (Blanke et al., 2002, 2004; Blanke and Metzinger, 2009; Blanke and Thut, 2007; De Ridder et al., 2007).”
BackgroundPrakash, R., Yongmei, H., Huang, Q., & Chaudhury, S. (2013) · Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology · doi:10.4103/0972-2327.107715 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“These include cerebral anoxia,[9-12] chemical alterations like hypercapnia,[10,13] presence of endorphins,[10,14] ketamine,[15] and serotonin,[16] or abnormal activity of the temporal lobe[12,17-21] or the limbic system.”
BackgroundThe Assembly of the Self from Sensory and Motor Foundations
Salomon, R. (2017) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2017.35.2.87 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Out-of-body experiences associated with seizures
Greyson, B., Fountain, N. B., Derr, L. L., & Broshek, D. K. (2014) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00065 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Functional (psychogenic) movement disorders
LaFaver, K., & Hallett, M. (2012) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/wco.0b013e3283551bc1 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Anterior Cingulate Implant for Alcohol Dependence
Ridder, D. D., Manning, P. J., Glue, P., Cape, G., Langguth, B., & Vanneste, S. (2016) · Neurosurgery · doi:10.1227/neu.0000000000001248 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
The Constructive Nature of Affective Vision: Seeing Fearful Scenes Activates Extrastriate Body Area
Sinke, C. B. A., den Stock, J. V., Goebel, R., & de Gelder, B. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038118 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Ombergen, A. V., Wuyts, F. L., Jeurissen, B., Sijbers, J., Vanhevel, F., Jillings, S., Parizel, P. M., Sunaert, S. G., de Heyning, P. V., Dousset, V., et al. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-03170-5 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Guterstam, A., Larsson, D. E. O., Szczotka, J., & Ehrsson, H. H. (2020) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.201911 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Daher, J. C., Damiano, R. F., Lucchetti, A. L. G., Moreira-Almeida, A., & Lucchetti, G. (2017) · Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000625 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Mota-Rolim, S. A., Bulkeley, K., Campanelli, S. E., Soares, B. L., de Araújo, D. B., & Ribeiro, S. T. G. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555731 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Common and distinct brain networks of autoscopic phenomena
Blondiaux, E., Heydrich, L., & Blanke, O. (2021) · NeuroImage Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102612 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“PET imaging revealed recruitment of the precuneus in a single case of stimulation-induced OBE (De Ridder et al., 2007), likely reflecting this structure’s role in visual-spatial processing and in self-related processing (Cavanna and Trimble, 2006; Northoff et al., 2006) and perspective taking…”
BackgroundBath-induced paroxysmal disorders in infancy
Nechay, A., & Stephenson, J. B. P. (2008) · European Journal of Paediatric Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2008.04.004 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Body plasticity in borderline personality disorder: A link to dissociation
Bekrater‐Bodmann, R., Chung, B. Y., Foell, J., Gescher, D. M., Bohus, M., & Flor, H. (2016) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.05.002 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Perspective: Present and Future of Virtual Reality for Neurological Disorders
Moon, H.-J., & Han, S. (2022) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci12121692 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
The Neurology of Consciousness: An Overview
Tononi, G., & Laureys, S. (2009) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-374168-4.00028-9 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Pfeiffer, C., Schmutz, V., & Blanke, O. (2014) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/s00221-014-4080-0 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“De Ridder et al. (2007) for example reported a patient who experienced to see the world from one viewpoint, while experiencing his subjective 1PP and self-location at a different spatial location.”
BackgroundA causal role for the right angular gyrus in self-location mediated perspective taking
de Boer, D. M. L., Johnston, P., Kerr, G., Meinzer, M., & Cleeremans, A. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-76235-7 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Out-of-Body Experience During Awake Craniotomy
Bos, E. M., Spoor, J. K. H., Smits, M., Schouten, J. W., & Vincent, A. J. P. E. (2016) · World Neurosurgery · doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2016.05.002 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Multisensory perception and bodily self-consciousness: from out-of-body to inside-body experience
Aspell, J. E., Lenggenhager, B., & Blanke, O. (2012) · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · doi:10.5167/uzh-139731 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Breakdown of the affective‐cognitive network in functional dystonia
Canu, E., Agosta, F., Tomić, A., Sarasso, E., Petrović, I. N., Piramide, N., Svetel, M. V., Inuggi, A., Mišković, N., Kostić, V., et al. (2020) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.24997 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology
Sitzman, D. M., & Rhodes, M. G. (2011) · Inquiry Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines · doi:10.5840/inquiryctnews201126222 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-face hallucination evoked by electrical stimulation of the human brain
Jonas, J., Maillard, L. G., Frismand, S., Colnat‐Coulbois, S., Vespignani, H., Rossion, B., & Vignal, J. (2014) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000000628 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“7 cortical surface (4,5), our investigations used intracerebral depth electrodes.”
MethodA neuroscientific model of near-death experiences
Martial, C., Fritz, P., Gosseries, O., Bonhomme, V. L., Kondziella, D., Nelson, K. R., & Lejeune, N. (2025) · Nature Reviews Neurology · doi:10.1038/s41582-025-01072-z · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Functional neuroimaging of conversion disorder: The role of ancillary activation
Burke, M. J., Ghaffar, O., Staines, R. W., Downar, J. H., & Feinstein, A. (2014) · NeuroImage Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2014.09.016 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Grund, M., Forschack, N., Nierhaus, T., & Villringer, A. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117384 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Braithwaite, J. J., Broglia, E., Brincat, O., Stapley, L., Wilkins, A. J., & Takahashi, C. (2013) · Cognitive Neuropsychiatry · doi:10.1080/13546805.2013.768176 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“For example, although pattern-glare effects are associated with migraine, and migraine can be more common in females than males, Evans and Stevenson (2008) failed to find any statistical differences between genders even when both groups were matched for age, suggesting that gender differences were not crucial for the…”
BackgroundDomain general mechanisms account for imagined transformations of whole body perspective
Gardner, M. R., & Potts, R. B. (2011) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.04.006 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Supramarginal activity in interoceptive attention tasks
Nejad, K. K., Sugiura, M., Nozawa, T., Kotozaki, Y., Furusawa, Y., Nishino, K., Nukiwa, T., & Kawashima, R. (2015) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2015.01.031 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-perception in anorexia nervosa: When the body becomes an object
Scarpina, F., Bastoni, I., Villa, V., Mendolicchio, L., Castelnuovo, G., Adenzato, M., & Sedda, A. (2022) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108158 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Moncayo, R., & Moncayo, H. (2014) · Woman - Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Obstetrics · doi:10.1016/j.woman.2014.02.001 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Myself with No Body? Body, Bodily-Consciousness and Self-consciousness
Legrand, D. (2009) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2646-0_10 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Autoscopic phenomena and one’s own body representation in dreams
Occhionero, M., & Cicogna, P. (2011) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2011.01.004 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Clinical aspects of Out-of-Body Experiences: Trauma, reflexivity and symbolisation
Rabeyron, T., & Caussié, S. (2016) · L Évolution Psychiatrique · doi:10.1016/j.evopsy.2016.09.002 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
- Authors
- De Ridder, D., Van Laere, K., Dupont, P., Menovsky, T., & Van de Heyning, P.
- Affiliations
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE)
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- Venue
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Publisher
- Massachusetts Medical Society
- Published
- 2007-11
- Volume
- 357
- Issue
- 18
- Pages
- 1829-1833
- ISSN
- 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
- 1533-4406
- OpenAlex
- W2048259805
- Semantic Scholar
- 16939d497310adea5f64747f3b3f7e087913f9d6
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 22.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
- Keywords
- out-of-body experiences, neural correlates, superior temporal gyrus, temporoparietal junction, angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, precuneus, posterior thalamus, disembodiment, tinnitus suppression, brain activation
- MeSH terms
- Body Image, Brain, Electric Stimulation, Humans, Illusions, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Parietal Lobe, Perceptual Distortion, Temporal Lobe, Tinnitus, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Positron-Emission Tomography
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