I cannot imagine, nor would I encourage anyone to undertake, a research project on a one-off  experience whose description is pre-determined, and whose subject matter is some publicly hyped topic.There are probably dozens of "spiritualist" magazines who would publish her account, and perhaps pay you money for it, but be careful.  It's her account to sell, not yours, and I wouldn't call it [scientific] research, in any case..  I can imagine a research project concerning what people report as they come out of anesthesia, using as a control group, say, people awoken from natural sleep.  

Please do not misunderstand my words. It is not a research project.  Her "experience" was an hallucination or a case of suggestion, of course. However, can I categorically exclude a case of anesthesia awareness? This is my real doubt !! Have I any tool to understand it? 

Dear Marco,

I know closely a person who had an out-of-body experience during anesthesia.  If you want her complete experience, please send my and email, and I will put you in contact with her. 

Best regards

If "studying and writing" are not research, then what the heck are they. And why ask a site called Research Gate?  Sorry if I sound trolly, but I am genuinely confused.  Nck

Dear Marco,

a very interesting question. Especially, as the subject itself seems to be causing some quite emotional responses and yes, particularly because "out of body" experiences during anaesthesia seem to be covered more by the lay press with little to find that has been published in the scientific literature. The latter will make it easier for all sorts of "experts" to come up with spiritualistic/religious opinions on the subject.

I really would encourage you to make a case report out of it. Describe not only the patient's account but particularly the procedure the patient underwent, the anesthetic(s) etc. Then review the literature and discuss the possible scientific explanations of the patient's experience wether it may have been an autoscopic phenomenon, a true illusory visual experience or if it could have been due to awareness under anaesthesia.

You may find these two articles of interest:

Anzellotti F, Onofrj V, Maruotti V, et al. Autoscopic phenomena: case report and review of literature. Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF. 2011;7:2. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-7-2.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3032659/

Bischoff P, Rundshagen I. Awareness Under General Anesthesia. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. 2011;108(1-2):1-7. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2011.0001.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026393/

Best wishes,

Immo

Dear Prof. Thompson you are not confused... simply you do not know the anesthesia awareness phenomenon. When in doubt it is best not to answer.

Thanks are due to Dr. Weichert for providing the references.  I was happy to read them.  I did in fact know about post surgical verbal reports of experiences while under surgery.  What I did not know was how much supposition can be wrung from a single case study in some research traditions.   I think case studies have their place, but only where the case so violates our expectations that it proves that something is possible that we would otherwise have thought was impossible.  That a single patient reported an out-of-body experience upon emerging from anesthesia is not in that category, is it?  What important expectations about human beings, anesthesia, etc., could such a single finding violate? 

Nick Thompson

I heard hundreds of post anesthesia stories, like awakenings, dreams, fairy talesIs, etc. For this purpose I analyze the individual case, indeed awareness is a rare event and each case has a specific dynamic. Why I love it? Anesthesia is not equal to sleep or coma, anesthesia is a fashinating cerebral status without a precise definition. I'd be happy to talk with you for hours about receptors, neural pathways, sitting in a coffee. Nevertheless, is out-of-body experience a postoperative report? Starting from this certainty, my  task is to understand the dynamics of the event. There are a visual preoperative perception (the operative theatre), integration of auditory inputs, memory consolidation (?). Maybe it was a hallucination ... and if instead it was the sum of a suggestion and a conscious perception? Look over the hedge Nick ... Intentionality is the mark of the vital.