Out-Of-Body Experience Trial Produces Unexpected Result: Report

A study investigating whether people who report out-of-body experiences can obtain information from another room has produced an unexpected result. Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine carried out a trial in Brazil involving 21 participants. They were asked to identify a random object displayed on a laptop screen in another room.

Ten participants said they experienced an out-of-body experience, while 13 provided descriptions of the target. However, the descriptions were no more accurate than would be expected by chance.

The researchers then noticed something unusual during interviews after the experiment.

Two participants independently described the positions and activities of researchers who were in another room behind closed doors. One participant said a researcher was sitting on the left looking at a laptop, while another person was farther back reading a book. Another participant described a researcher sitting on the right and taking notes, with another person on the left at a computer.

According to the trial records, both descriptions matched what was happening in the room at the time. The researchers also said the participants had no way of seeing the people in the room.

The unexpected observations were not part of the study's planned outcome measures. Researchers therefore say they cannot be treated as evidence that out-of-body experiences allow people to perceive distant locations.

Instead, the findings could help researchers develop new ways of studying the phenomenon.

Marina Weiler, a researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine's Division of Perceptual Studies, said the results could give researchers a specific idea to test in future experiments.

The researchers suggest that the type of target used in an experiment may affect the results. Distinctive, memorable or emotionally engaging objects or details could potentially be easier for participants to visualise than ordinary targets.

Future studies could therefore include hidden details, such as a researcher wearing a distinctive item of clothing, to see whether participants can accurately describe them without seeing or being told about them.

The researchers stressed that these ideas need to be tested prospectively and under rigorous conditions before any conclusions can be drawn.

The researchers have published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Explore. The research team included Weiler, Damon Abraham, David J P Acunzo and Niffe Hermansson.