pandora Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/health/p...amp;oref=slogin They are eerie sensations, more common than one might think: A man describes feeling a shadowy figure standing behind him, then turning around to find no one there. A woman feels herself leaving her body and floating in space, looking down on her corporeal self. Such experiences are often attributed by those who have them to paranormal forces. But according to recent work by neuroscientists, they can be induced by delivering mild electric current to specific spots in the brain. In one woman, for example, a zap to a brain region called the angular gyrus resulted in a sensation that she was hanging from the ceiling, looking down at her body. In another woman, electrical current delivered to the angular gyrus produced an uncanny feeling that someone was behind her, intent on interfering with her actions. ....And while it may be tempting to invoke the supernatural when this body sense goes awry, he said the true explanation is a very natural one, the brain’s attempt to make sense of conflicting information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 LOL, when I saw that title I thought it was about the musical instruments. I thought, hmmm...what is there to explain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 A great part of awareness is feedback of our own actions and perceptions. Cut of that feedback, and you get some strange reaction indeed. If you were pinching yourself, yet you didn't have the feedback from the pinching hand and arm, then it would certainly feel like someone else was pinching you. Nothing too complicated here, but still interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markkasan Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Another superstition explained by science. Carl Sagan would be smiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 They think if they look out into the origins of the universe they might see existence of God. But the reality is, the birth of God will be found behind this, in the human brain. The senses of a spirit world that exists outside our bodies. The Shamans "visions", beliefs, etc. The birth and evolution of God from the electrical impulses of the brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeydid Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Scary to think sometimes how little we can actually trust our perceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astreja Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Another superstition explained by science. Carl Sagan would be smiling.Já, I love it when there's a discovery like this. The more we know about what's really causing something, the less room there is for dangerous superstitious claptrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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