The Neuroscience and Psychology of the Alien Abduction Phenomenon: A Review

Summary

The alien abduction phenomenon involves reports of individuals being taken by non-human entities, often remembered vividly. This review discusses various neuroscientific and psychological models explaining these experiences, including mechanisms like sleep paralysis and predictive processing. Individual differences such as dissociation and memory vulnerability also play a role in how these experiences are recalled. The review suggests overlaps with psychedelic and near-death experiences, while noting limitations in understanding some cases.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The alien abduction phenomenon – reports of being taken by non-human entities, often into a craft-like environment and subjected to examinations or procedures – is widely described yet remains scientifically contentious. This review synthesizes the main neuroscientific and psychological models that have been proposed to explain why such experiences occur, why they are often recalled as vivid and life-changing, and why their surface content varies across persons and cultures. On the neurobiological side, the strongest candidate mechanisms are sleep paralysis, rapid-eye-movement dreaming and intrusion, temporoparietal and basal ganglial implication, ‘death feigning’ re-activation, and the ways in which certain serotonergic changes can dramatically shift the experience of the self, world and other. At a higher explanatory level, predictive processing models help integrate these factors by framing abduction experiences as high-confidence inferences made under conditions of sensory ambiguity and heightened arousal, shaped by learning and cultural expectations. On the psychological side, individual differences in dissociation, fantasy proneness, absorption, suggestibility, memory vulnerability and past trauma, appear to modulate both susceptibility and (especially for memory effects and trauma responses) narrative content and consolidation. Finally, phenomenological and psychological parallels with psychedelic and near-death experiences – centered around ‘entity encounters’ – suggest partially overlapping mechanisms across exceptional human experiences, while also highlighting meaningful differences in context, meaning-making, and downstream impact. A conclusion is offered as to an integrated framework, while importantly highlighting limitations and a minority of cases evading clear explanation. Practical recommendations for future research aimed at improving phenomenological, psychological and neurobiological measurement and prediction, are finally made.

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