The age at which many students enter grad school–their early 20s–is also commonly the age at which many mental illnesses, such as depression and schizophrenia, first become evident. This article on a fascinating development for a man with schizophrenia who took part in a neuroscientist’s ‘rubber hand’ experiment, shows a still very speculative yet promising line for schizophrenia research—and one that may be of particular benefit for above-averagely intelligent sufferers of the illness, such as grad students.

RM had his first out-of-body experience at the age of 16. Now, at the age of 55, he has had more than he can count. They usually happen just before he falls asleep; for ten minutes, he feels like he is floating above his body, looking down on himself. If the same thing happens when he’s awake, it’s a far less tranquil story. The sense of displacement is stronger – his real body feels like a marionette, while he feels like a puppeteer. His feelings of elevation soon change into religious delusions, in which he imagines himself talking to angels and demons. Psychotic episodes follow. After four or five days, RM is hospitalised.

Then, about a year ago, he took part in a study that seems to have changed his life.

‘Man with schizophrenia has out-of-body experience in lab, gains knowledge, controls his psychosis‘, by Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, October 31, 2001