Alien abduction and recovered memory.

Harvard Mental Health Letter, May, 2003

An experiment conducted by Harvard psychologists suggests that people who believe they have been abducted by extraterrestrials, when they try to recall a word list, make the same kinds of errors as people with recovered memories of childhood sexual molestation. The psychologists conclude that these two experiences have common roots.

A widely accepted theory about alien abduction memories is that they result from a harmless but disturbing episode of sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis occurs when a person half-awakens from REM sleep, eyes open and fully conscious but still unable to move and sometimes still experiencing dreamlike hallucinations. People in this state often hear buzzing noises, see flashing lights and figures hovering near their beds, and feel themselves...