The
debate between science and faith cannot be resolved so easily. Recent
studies by Dr Olaf Blanke, neurologist in the University Hospital of
Geneva, Switzerland, show that at least some OBEs can be induced through
electrical stimulation.
Dr Blanke
accidentally stumbled upon the bizarre results while treating a couple
of female epileptic patients in 2004. This was the first scientific
evidence that OBEs might have the brain to blame. When electric current
was delivered to the angular gyrus of the brain’s temporal-parietal
junction, responsible for integrating visual information and the sense
of spatial location, of one patient, she had the sensation of floating
in the air looking down at her own body. In the other patient, it produced
an eerie feeling that someone was right behind her, trying to interfere
with her actions.
Says Dr Joydev Mukherji, head of neurology, Max Hospitals, “OBEs are yet to be
defined in clear scientific terms. There are some closely related
conditions like, for example, sleep paralysis, a temporary paralysis of
the body which occurs either just before the person falls off to sleep,
or when the brain wakes up after REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and
the body hasn’t. It’s possibly in a condition like that when a person
has an OBE. We also look at lower levels of melatonin (neurohormone) as a
possible explanation. All the same, studies on these experiences are still
pretty rare.”
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