Out-of-body experiences in a May 2025 study disrupt brain science basics, as five researchers probe consciousness beyond our skulls. Philosopher David Chalmers’s “hard problem” looms while scientists debate if the brain is merely a cosmic bystander.

Some researchers now gather out-of-body testimony, hoping to decode the hard problem of consciousness. Qualitative data, not just neuron counts, could upend our understanding of subjective experience—imagine brains as mere seatbelts for a joyride through reality.