Testing out of body experiences
In a trial that sounds like something out of science fiction, researchers in Switzerland have managed to recreate out of body experiences. Using virtual reality display goggles the volunteers could see virtual recreations of their own bodies in real time, or with a time lag, which the researchers would touch or stroke.
The volunteers reported that by viewing the stroke they felt more of a sensation, even with a time lag, making the virtual representation of themselves fell more “real”.
Dr Ehrsson said:
“This experiment suggests that the first-person visual perspective is critically important for the in-body experience. In other words, we feel that our self is located where the eyes are.”
