Instant Genius is a bite-sized masterclass in podcast form. And in this episode, we're exploring out-of-body experiences.

These experiences have long fascinated humans, with accounts of people feeling as if they’ve floated above their own bodies going back thousands of years. But what causes them? Intriguing new findings by neuroscientists could provide some answers.

One such researcher is Dr Jane Aspell, head of the Self and Body lab at Anglia Ruskin University. She joins us to explain what happens in the brain during an out-of-body experience – and how virtual reality and the metaverse can replicate these events.

Find Instant Genius on your preferred podcast platform here: instantgenius.podlink.to/Podcast

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Authors

Thomas Ling
Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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