Deja vu

Deja vu is a French term that translates to "already seen." It refers to the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, regardless of whether it has actually happened.

Overview

Deja vu is a common intuitive experience that has happened to many people. It occurs when an individual feels that an event or experience currently being experienced has already been experienced in the past. This feeling of familiarity can be triggered by a scene, event, person, or even a song. The experience of deja vu seems to be quite common among adults and children alike. References to deja vu have been found in literature of the past, showing it is not a new phenomenon.

Causes

The cause of deja vu is not completely understood. Some researchers suggest that it may be related to a mismatching in the brain that causes the brain to mistake the present for the past. Others suggest that it is related to memory recall and may be a glitch in the process of memory formation and retrieval. There is also a theory that deja vu is a result of a disruption in the process of memory consolidation, which is the process of transferring new learning into long-term memory.

Relation to medical conditions

Deja vu is not considered a problem in itself, but it is associated with certain types of epilepsy. This is not to say that everyone who experiences deja vu has epilepsy, but it can occur more frequently in people who have seizures originating in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. In some cases, deja vu may be a sign of a neurological or psychiatric condition.

See also

• Memory
• Epilepsy
• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Neurology
• Psychiatry

References

Deja vu Resources
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