Neatorama » self-awareness http://www.neatorama.com The Neat Side of the Web Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:37:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 The Body Swap Illusion http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/03/the-body-swap-illusion/ http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/03/the-body-swap-illusion/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:01:06 +0000 Miss Cellania http://www.neatorama.com/?p=21228 Out-of-body experiences and even the sense of switching bodies with another person can be induced by tricking the mind with sensory illusions!

In a study presented Tuesday, neuroscientists at Stockholm’s renowned Karolinska Institute show how they got volunteers wearing virtual reality goggles to experience the illusion of swapping bodies with a mannequin and a real person.

“We were interested in a classical question that philosophers and psychologists have discussed for centuries: why we feel that the self is in our bodies,” project leader Henrik Ehrsson said. “To study this scientifically we’ve used tricks, perceptual illusions.”

70-80% of the test subjects experienced the illusion “very strongly”. How weird that feeling must be! Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

(image credit: AP/Niklas Larsson)

]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/03/the-body-swap-illusion/feed/ 5