Division of Perceptual Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
2 papers in the library · 14 citations · publishing 2024-2025
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs), where individuals feel detached from their physical bodies, often lead to lasting increases in pro-social behaviors such as tolerance and empathy. This article proposes that these changes occur through ego dissolution—a sense of unity and interconnectedness similar to that induced by psychedelics. The authors examine potential brain mechanisms, focusing on the temporoparietal junction and the Default Mode Network, to explain how OBEs might enhance empathy. The work synthesizes existing ideas to illuminate the relationship between altered states of consciousness and empathic improvement.
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) may offer clues about the mind-body relationship. Four interpretations are examined: OBEs as products of neural dysfunction, consistent with mind and brain being aspects of the same reality; anecdotal and experimental evidence that the mind can perceive distant locations, suggesting non-local consciousness; OBEs during abnormal brain function raising the possibility of mind independent of brain; and subjective feelings of survival or OBEs near clinical death supporting the survival hypothesis. The paper argues that OBEs are relevant to debates on the mind-body problem by presenting evidence for each view.