AutoscopyParanormal experience a b s t r a c t Self-processing has been related to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) as well as to their connectivity. So far, out-of-body experiences (OBEs), impressive transient deviations of intact bodily self-integration, could be associated with the TPJ, but the mediation by the frontal lobe, and thus fronto-parietal connectivity, is yet unknown. Thus, we assessed switching performance to assess fronto-parietal connectivity when healthy participants [11 reported previous OBEs (OBE-individuals); 36 reported no previous OBEs (nOBE-individuals)] performed two different mental own body imagery tasks. By using the same stimuli of a front-facing and back-facing human figure, a cue simultaneously presented with the target indicated to participants whether they had to take the position of the depicted human figure (disembodied self-location mimicking an OBE) or had to imagine that the figure was their own reflection in a mirror (embodied Selflocation). By repeating trials of the same task instruction for a differing number of trials (2-6 trials), we could assess switch costs when alternating between these two task instructions with switch costs being considered to be a behavioural indicator of frontoparietal connectivity. Results showed that OBE-individuals performed worse than nOBEindividuals in switch trials, but not in trials in which the same task instruction was repeated. Moreover, this reduced performance was specific to body positions that are normally considered easier (front-facing in the mirror condition; back-facing in the OBE mimicking condition). These findings suggest that a fronto-parietal network might be implicated in OBEs, and that the flexible and spontaneous egocentric perspective taking of self-congruent body representations is hampered in individuals with previous OBEs. ª 2008 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved. IntroductionIntact self representation relies on the ability to experience oneself as an enduring and spatial entity (i.e., the feeling that we are the same person across time and space) to which certain mental events and actions are ascribed (i.e., the feeling of agency; being author of one's own thoughts and actions) and which is distinct from the environment (e.g., Blanke et al., 2005;Brugger et al., 1997;Frith, 2005;Halligan, 2002;Kircher and David, 2003;Ramachandran and Hirstein, 1998 for recent accounts). More recent philosophical and neurological theories have also highlighted the relevance of the bodily self, i.e., * Corresponding author. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK. E-mail address: christine.mohr@bristol.ac.uk (C. Mohr).a v a i l a b l e a t w w w . s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / c o r t e x 0010-9452/$ -see front matter ª
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.