Neurocognitive correlates of the out-of-body experience, body-distortion processing and kindred hallucinations of the self.

Promising (self funded) students are invited to apply to investigate underlying neural and cognitive correlates of hallucinations and delusions relating to self-processing, embodiment and kindred experiences. Examples include, out-of-body experiences, autoscopic hallucinations, rubber-hand illusions, dysfunctions in body-part processing and / or perspective taking.

An approach looking into the perceptual / attentional / representational factors crucial to these experiences will be adopted. Methods employed will range from pure behavioural techniques (reaction times / accuracy), to these being complemented by additional findings from (i) eye-movements (ii) Trans-Cranial Magnetic Stimulation, (iii) EEG, (iv) brain-imaging, (v) brain-damaged patients, etc. There is also a potential to work with epileptic patients and to collaborate with Neuropsychiatrists and additional Neuroscientists.