Hey fellow nexians! I had something on my mind that I had forgotten for a long time, then was reminded of recently in a bout of synchronicity. I've searched the boards here, and the internet in general, and I've never heard of anyone having something quite like this happen to them...maybe someone here has?

Many years ago, I was young (17) and smoking a lot of ganja. On one particular occasion of a few too many, something odd happened to me that defies sense: I had the sensation that my brain turned around - did a 180 degree spin about the vertical axis of my spine - inside my skull. What that felt like exactly is difficult to describe, but it's pretty much like you might think, if you were to try to imagine it (can't imagine why you would). That is, there was a sense that the tissue was compressed, squished around so that the long end (front to back) could fit in the shorter side to side space (as the turn hit the 90 degree mark) then re-expanded as it continued the turn, so that finally the frontal lobes fit imperfectly in the back of my skull It was unpleasant, to say the least, and quite believable to boot.

Now, this whole experience is problematic from a couple perspectives. First, it's impossible to 'feel' things that occur to the brain physically, since the brain doesn't have nerves on itself to detect physical contact in the first place. So, where did these feelings come from? How?

Second, it's plainly obvious that my brain didn't actually do this...it has no way to detach itself from the connective tissue cushioning it within the skull, and even if that wasn't there, it has no muscles or other means to actually perform this maneuver. Finally, even if my brain could turn around like that, it would snap my spinal cord while horribly misshaping the brain itself, so I would undoubtedly be dead if such a thing had happened.

Needless to say, though I've never had a brain scan, I'm confident my brain is not the organ equivalent of Houdini After a few minutes passed, the feeling subsided, and eventually I came down as usual.

Now, here's where it gets weirder. I had filed this experience away and forgotten about it, until I had a chat with my mom recently. We were discussing our mutual distaste for most prescription medication, and she proceeded to tell me an anecdote about her experience in hospital, after being given a large dose of painkillers (can't remember what kind). Imagine my shock when she proceeded to describe the exact same experience, the sickening sensation that her brain was moving and changing shape in her skull in order to turn itself around

I literally was stunned silent after she mentioned that. She had to ask if I was still on the other end of the call.

Anyway, this is weird and no doubt, so I had to see if anyone here has a similar story. Any offer any theories (or wild speculation) about how/why such a thing can be felt?

^^Drugs have twisted your brain Sir!

From a neuroanatomical basis I think that theres likely to be a few possible areas contributing to this but where they all converge is the thalamus, specifically the ventral posteromedial division of the ventral posterior nucleus, and from here to the parietal lobe.The fancy name for whats being described is a kinesthetic hallucination.

it was bound to happen eventually, I guess!

I had honestly never heard of kinesthetic hallucinations before, but on reflection the definition (at least, provided here) fits a number of experiences I've had with psys. The strange thing about this hallucination was that it involved my brain, so specifically; not my head or casing or anything else.

Well, it's also weird that my mom experienced the same hallucination on a totally different drug

Thanks for the reply!

I will need to do some research to understand the details here!

I once had an experience on Mary J that I still cant understand.

I had sensations of space outside my body. Multiple points and some small some large that I could feel that ranged from an inch to several inches from my head, outside of it.

It was strange and the only thing I could think of at the time was the it felt like my brain had exploded out the side of my head and then freeze framed at the point where pieces were flying through the air, and I could still feel it. Not pain, just feeling of it being a part of me. When I moved it moved with my as if all the pieces were connected in some way to my body.

Haven't had this since unfortunately.

twisted brains run in the family, it would seem.

perhaphs the mind is looking inward and these kinesthetic hallucinations are triggered as such , who knows what