Title: [Astral and out-of-body voyages. Heautoscopy, ecstasis and experimental hallucinations of epileptic origin]. Author: Vuilleumier P, Despland PA, Assal G, Regli F. Journal: Rev Neurol (Paris); 1997 Mar; 153(2):115-9. PubMed ID: 9296122. Abstract: We report a 38 year-old patient who had temporoparietal epilepsy and unusual ictal "out of body" experiences that remained undiagnosed for more than ten years, until her admission for a motor seizure of the left hemibody. Out of body episodes were experienced as intense and ecstatic astral journeys. EEG showed a bilateral extension of epileptiform abnormalities to the parietal regions, predominantly on the right side. We discuss the various forms of heautoscopy and their putative mechanisms. We suggest that a disturbance in representing space in independent extrapersonal and personal coordinates might be as crucial as the elusive hypothesis of a body schema disorder. Combined involvement of the parietal neocortex and temporolimbic structures might allow those experiences to gain a subjective vividness which appears to be indissociable from normal conscious experiences.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]
