Virtual Reality and Neuromodulation in the Induction of Out-of-Body Experience (VR-NIOBE): A Proof-of-Concept New Paradigm for Psychological and Neuroscientific Study of an Altered State of Consciousness

Virtual reality (VR) has been used to induce out-of-body experience (OBE), but the construct validity of prior methods has been criticized. The current research evaluated a new VR paradigm to induce OBE that included implementation of a brain-computer interface (BCI), affording a means of neuromodulation. Thirty volunteers were tested in a VR paradigm that compared subjective report and electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations at frontal (AF7 and AF8) and right temporoparietal (CP6) regions to two personalized 360 degrees videos, one of which simulated an in-body experience (IBE) and the other an OBE. Real-time analyses of frontal EEG alpha power determined the speed, brightness, and color saturation of the videos, thus providing neurofeedback as a means for invoking a sense of mental agency over the perceived movement of the spatial location of consciousness without bodily movement. As compared with response to the IBE in VR, participants reported that they had a greater sense of being in an elevated position above and outside of their bodies, had an experience of looking down at themselves from above, had experiences of floating and having an invisible body, and felt greater awe during the OBE. Participants also reported that increasing EEG alpha power was not easy, implying variability in perceived control or agency during the OBE. Theta oscillations were lower during the OBE than the IBE, while the difference in alpha and beta oscillations across electrodes varied between the OBE and IBE. The current research provides proof of concept of a promising new paradigm that combines VR and neuromodulation in the induction of OBE (VR-NIOBE). Further psychophysiological research and dismantling studies of the paradigm are warranted.