Here's a brief Popular Science piece on a woman who apparently can have out-of-body experiences at will. Excerpt:
The most exciting thing about this case, to me, is "the possibility that this phenomenon may have a significant incidence but [is] unreported because people do not think this is exceptional," as the authors wrote. "Alternatively," they continued, "the ability might be present in infancy but is lost without regular practice. This would be reminiscent of the discovery and eventual study of synesthesia that some researchers now hypothesize is more prevalent in young people or can be developed."
The piece drew a retort from another PopSci writer who wants us to know that the woman only thinks she is having OBEs, and there is no proof that she's actually observing her environment from outside her body. Which is fair enough, though I would think it's pretty obvious. The original article even notes that an fMRI scan of the woman during one of her OBEs showed activation of parts of the brain associated with "mental representations of bodily movement," which could suggest that her OBEs are imaginary.
As always, more study is neeeded …