Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41030339›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in psychology2025

Distinguishing out-of-body experiences from lucid dreaming: a phenomenological analysis.

Marina Weiler, Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Martin M Monti

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Marina WeilerDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States.
Alexander Moreira-AlmeidaResearch Center in Spirituality and Health (NUPES), Juiz de Fora Federal University, Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
Martin M MontiDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite extensive discussions, a consensus is lacking on whether out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and lucid dreams (LDs) should be considered as distinct categories of experience, and if so, what differentiates them. To address this issue, we first discussed the implications of OBEs and LDs as the same type of phenomenon. We then compiled a comprehensive list of experiential features associated with OBEs and LDs, aiming to identify a distinguishing criterion between them. We conclude that neither the previously proposed features nor the interpretation of the experience can reliably differentiate them. We suggest that disembodiment, or existing without a physical body, should be the key phenomenological feature of OBEs, regardless of other aspects of the experience. Our argument is supported by first-person reports included as supplementary material, indicated by superscript numbers. By focusing on this crucial element, we can better understand and characterize an OBE, distinguishing it from other related experiences.

Indexed as

altered states of consciousnessconsciousnessnon-ordinary states of consciousnessphenomenologysleep

Identifiers

PMID41030339
PMCPMC12477129

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.