Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Centre for Philosophical Psychology, Department of Philosophy, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024 Aug;163:105770. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105770. Epub 2024 Jun 14.
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Little is known about the neurophysiology of spontaneous OBEs, which are often reported by healthy individuals as occurring during states of reduced vigilance, particularly in proximity to or during sleep (sleep-related OBEs). In this paper, we review the current state of research on sleep-related OBEs and hypothesize that maintaining consciousness during transitions from wakefulness to REM sleep (sleep-onset REM periods) may facilitate sleep-related OBEs. Based on this hypothesis, we propose a new conceptual model that potentially describes the relationship between OBEs and sleep states. The model sheds light on the phenomenological differences between sleep-related OBEs and similar states of consciousness, such as lucid dreaming (the realization of being in a dream state) and sleep paralysis (feeling paralyzed while falling asleep or waking up), and explores the potential polysomnographic features underlying sleep-related OBEs. Additionally, we apply the predictive coding framework and suggest a connecting link between sleep-related OBEs and OBEs reported during wakefulness.
离体体验（OBE）的特征是主观体验到位于身体之外。关于自发 OBE 的神经生理学知之甚少，健康个体经常报告在警觉性降低时发生，特别是在接近睡眠或睡眠期间（睡眠相关 OBE）。在本文中，我们回顾了睡眠相关 OBE 的研究现状，并假设在从清醒到 REM 睡眠（睡眠开始 REM 期）的过渡期间保持意识可能会促进睡眠相关 OBE。基于这一假设，我们提出了一个新的概念模型，该模型可能描述了 OBE 与睡眠状态之间的关系。该模型阐明了睡眠相关 OBE 与类似意识状态（如清醒梦（意识到处于梦境状态）和睡眠瘫痪（入睡或醒来时感到瘫痪））之间的现象学差异，并探讨了睡眠相关 OBE 潜在的多导睡眠图特征。此外，我们应用预测编码框架，并提出睡眠相关 OBE 与清醒时报告的 OBE 之间的连接环节。
