Probably, everyone had the feeling that someone else was nearby, although in fact there was no one nearby. Mystically minded people in these cases speak of ghosts or other supernatural entities. But scientists have tried to give the phenomenon a completely realistic explanation. "Ghosts" are created by our brains, they say.
"Invisible companions": guardian angels and invisible
On June 29, 1970, climber Reinhold Messner and his brother descended from the top of Nanga Parbat Mountain. The brothers were tormented by the cold and lack of oxygen. In addition, both were suffering from fatigue … Suddenly Messner heard someone else walking behind them: "He was walking to my right, lagging a few steps behind, so that I could not see him."
It was then that experts drew attention to the so-called "presence effect". It turned out that there are a lot of such cases. Not only climbers, but also ordinary travelers talked about the "invisible fellow travelers". People who have recently lost someone close to them supposedly felt that the deceased was next to them. And of course, this happened more than once with patients suffering from neurotic and mental disorders.
Some spoke simply about the "invisible man", others - about a certain "observer" who was watching them, the third called the invisible creature "guardian angel" or "demon" …
Of course, the first thing the researchers suggested was that these hallucinations were the result of brain malfunction - for example, due to extreme fatigue or extreme environmental conditions, as well as stress and illness. But it was possible to prove this experimentally only relatively recently.
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Where does the sense of "presence" come from?
The journal Current Biology published the results of the work of the group of Olaf Blanke from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland). At the first stage, scientists examined the brains of 12 patients suffering from neurological diseases, mainly epilepsy, and who complained of a sense of "presence."
Brain tomography revealed abnormalities in the areas of the insular, fronto-parietal and temporoparietal cortex. These areas are responsible for self-preservation, movement, and a sense of positioning in space.
The volunteers were then blindfolded and asked to perform a series of movements with their arms outstretched in front of them. At this time, behind each participant there was a robot performing the same movements and sometimes touching the subject.
When the experimenters made the robot's actions lag somewhat behind human actions, the subjects got the impression that someone else was invisible next to them. At the same time, some counted up to four "ghosts" nearby. Others were so scared that they asked to stop the experiment …
According to experts, the distortion of the passage of sensorimotor signals in the brain leads to an incorrect perception of oneself and the world around it, in particular, signals received from one's own body begin to be perceived as coming from some other animate object.
Sleep paralysis
Another reason for the appearance of "ghosts" can be the so-called sleep paralysis. It usually occurs in people immediately after waking up or while falling asleep. At this moment, on the verge of sleep and wakefulness, a person completely loses control over his muscles, he cannot move his arm or leg.
Interestingly, this state can be accompanied by a feeling of suffocation and unaccountable fear, sometimes turning into panic. But since such a state usually lasts no more than a few seconds, we rarely remember it. However, against the background of sleep paralysis, some have hallucinations.
Here are some stories from people who have had similar experiences.
“I woke up early in the morning feeling that something very heavy was pressing on my legs. I could not move and, experiencing real terror, could not only scream, but even make the quietest sound. Then I managed to squint my eyes, and I saw in the area of my feet some kind of thickening of darkness without clear outlines, some shadow melting in the darkness, like a winged demon. I cannot forget about this experience until now."
“For several months, I woke up in the middle of the night with a clear feeling that someone was lying next to me, although I lived alone. At the same time, this “someone” was so close to me that I could feel his breath, but I myself could neither turn nor speak."
“I opened my eyes very early in the morning and saw that an ominous female figure was approaching me from somewhere in the opposite corner of the ceiling. At the same time, I was fully conscious, lying on my back, clearly seeing all the details of the room, but I could not move at all. I remember: I wanted to jump up and scream, but I remained motionless like a stone."
Scientists believe that sleep paralysis may be associated with a temporary disorder of nervous activity: at these moments, consciousness is still awake (or has already turned on), but the motor centers are already (or not yet) inactive. This condition can occur against the background of stress, overexcitation, or extreme fatigue.
TRINITY MARGARITA
