Out-of-Body Experiences and Related Phenomena in Migraine Art
Cephalalgia December 1, 1999 Klaus Podoll, D Robinson 40 citations
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) can occur as a symptom of migraine aura. In a collection of 562 migraine art pictures, seven pieces depicted OBEs and related phenomena, such as sensing a duplicate body (parasomatic body) and seeing one's own body from an external perspective (autoscopy). Comparing these depictions with 17 case reports from the literature supports the idea that OBEs are a preformed functional response of the brain, not merely hallucinatory experiences based on imagination and memory. This neuropsychological theory complements existing psychological explanations of OBEs.