Each of us has the feeling of having done something and a vague sense of having done it before without any real recollection of that time. This macabre phenomenon is known around the world as Déjà Vu. It is a very common phenomenon and people across the globe experience it every day. Some people even say they experience it at least once a week.
Déjà vu is a French term meaning “Watched.“Weird, isn’t it?
What is Déjà Vu?
Déjà vu is a feeling of familiarity or recognition without remembering when or where. Sometimes, it happens when we see something that reminds us of something else in any past event. Let’s take a simple example to understand déjà vu.
Suppose you walk into a room to do something and then suddenly have the feeling that you have experienced this exact moment before. However, no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to remember exactly when you experienced that moment.
No, it is not a “glitch in the Matrix” as the pop culture movie would have you believe!
It is a phenomenon that has a basic scientific reason. Even though you subconsciously believe this is a new experience for you, your brain tries to convince you otherwise. Different people have assigned different meanings to Déjà vu. However, déjà vu just means that something is affecting your memory.
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How does Déjà Vu happen?
Many people believe they experience déjà vu because they lived through that exact moment in a past life, while many others believe it was a paranormal experience or some kind of premonition.
Fortunately, that is not the case.
There is no single reason behind déjà vu. Different studies have proven different things. But they all agree on one thing, déjà vu is a memory phenomenon.
Traditionally, our brain is divided into four lobes:
1. Front view
2. Peak
3. Temporary
4. Occipital
The temporal lobe in our brain is responsible for visual memory, language comprehension, and emotional understanding. When the temporal lobe is affected by factors such as epilepsy, fatigue, stress, exhaustion, etc., it will cause differences in our memories. The above factors are the main causes leading to the occurrence of déjà vu.
So, medically speaking, you don’t experience déjà vu because you remember something from the past. Déjà vu happens when you’re reeling from stress, anxiety, exhaustion or seizures.
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Nearly 70-80% of the population experiences déjà vu, both mentally healthy and mentally disturbed.
There are many theories related to the occurrence of déjà vu such as neural recycling theory, cognitive dissonance and precognition. Some people even believe that precognitive dreams and déjà vu are somehow connected.
However, this is just a theory and has no scientific basis.
Researchers have studied déjà vu for a long time. Conducted studies show that this strange phenomenon is linked to the nervous system. An unusual neurological condition called epileptic discharges causes people to have the impression that the event or experience they are experiencing now happened in the past.
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However, people with healthy brains also experience déjà vu. According to some studies, déjà vu is caused by differences in memory that cause inaccurate formation of detailed memory from a novel sensory experience.
Other studies show that students, frequent travelers, or anyone who is tired or under pressure are more likely to experience this feeling. This is because fatigue and stress can affect our memories, which is unintentionally linked to déjà vu.
The feeling of déjà vu is quite common. Even the healthiest minds experience them. However, if you experience déjà vu frequently, such as more than a few times a month, see a neurologist. These may be symptoms of neurological epilepsy.
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Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: pagasa.edu.vn