Exam 7: Can the Mind Leave the Body the Mindbrain Problem

S. R. Wilmot and his cabin mate saw Wilmot's wife on board their ship when she had remained on land. Later Mrs. Wilmot asked if they had seen her on the ship. This incident is evidence supporting the claim that Mrs. Wilmot had left her body and "traveled" to the ship. As evidence, it is most susceptible to which limitation?

The history of the development of better techniques for identifying the specific brain areas associated with mental abilities and behaviors has been concerned with:

Many mind-body dualists believe that the mind is not physical, and conclude that the mind can leave the body in an out-of-body experience (OBE). According to the text, what is the MOST fundamental problem that dualists have not yet resolved in drawing this conclusion?

The influential French philosopher Rene Descartes famously said, "I think, therefore I am," revealing that he:

Which finding provides the strongest evidence in support of the conclusion that the mind does not actually leave the body in an out-of-body experience (OBE)?

Overgaard and his colleagues (2004) used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) by placing a magnetic wand over an area of the skull corresponding to an area of the visual cortex. This disrupted activation in that area and caused participants to temporarily lose awareness of a visual stimulus. An advantage of TMS over other methods is that it allows researchers to:

In 1997, members of the Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide so that their spirits could rendezvous with alien beings in a different dimension. This suggests a committed belief in:

Suppose a person was having an out-of-body experience (OBE) while present in a laboratory and the researcher wanted to find out which specific area of the brain was active during this OBE episode. Which technique for studying brain function would work BEST to isolate the specific area involved?

Andrea concludes that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are actual experiences of the mind leaving the body. Which assumption might call into question and even challenge Andrea's evaluation of the common experience of OBE that people report?

Suppose someone claims that the mind or spirit can actually leave the body and states that it must be true because so many people from different cultures believe it. Which is the BEST analysis of these statements?

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) may occur after stimulation of the brain, while in dream-like states, and in laboratory experiments. These facts are MOST consistent with the hypothesis that:

Do ghosts actually exist? Use what you have learned about the scientific study of the out-of-body experience (OBE) to answer this question to the extent that that discussion is relevant.

Ramachandran's work with amputees who experience phantom limb sensations is relevant to the study of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) because:

In relationship to out-of-body experiences (OBEs), electrostimulation of the brain can:

Tart (1968) tested whether Miss Z, a subject who had many out-of-body experiences (OBEs), could accurately perceive things when outside of her body. The important limitation of this study as OBE evidence is MOST related to:

In terms of their philosophical position on the mind-body problem, people who believe in ghosts and reincarnation are likely to be:

This chapter uses the example of imagining a purple strawberry with yellow spots to show how the mind:

Surgeon Wilder Penfield systematically applied tiny currents to the brains of conscious patients with epilepsy to determine which areas of the brain responded normally and which were damaged. Penfield used the technique of _____ to map the specific functions of the somatosensory cortex.

Javette read this chapter's literature review and decided that the bulk of the good scientific evidence, especially the research on the brain, led her to the conclusion that an out-of-the-body experience (OBE) results from the neural activity in the right precentral gyrus, producing the "illusion" that the mind has left the body. She further decided that this showed that all consciousness could be reduced to brain activity. Which thinking error did Javette commit?

Does astral projection (the paranormal claim of soul travel) actually occur? Use what you have learned about the scientific study of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) to answer.