Problem

Despite decades of debate, no neurophysiological signature of the Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) is currently accepted by mainstream neuroscience—largely because most laboratory studies have relied on sporadic, hard-to-reproduce episodes in untrained participants. SC-LAB addresses this limitation by working with rare, highly skilled experiencers who can attempt OBE induction on demand, making the state experimentally testable and reproductible.

Building on the classic works of Charles Tart’s gifted-subject studies in the 1960s, the SC-LAB has conducted a pilot study of willfully induced OBEs in partnership with the Swiss Institute of Noetic Sciences (INSNOE) to that effect.

Technology

The project combines high-density EEG with MRI-informed source localisation, using individualised 3-D electrode mapping to improve anatomical precision and distinguish candidate OBE-related activity from sleep-stage transitions, imagery, or artefact.

Outcomes and impact

This research is a first step to achieve a replicable, high-resolution biomarkers of OBEs, including OBE onset neurophysiology, giving us a distinct neurocognitive state of OBEs—providing the empirical foundation required for any serious theory of consciousness to account for this phenomenon.