The Mystery of Déjà Vu Explained
Has it ever happened to you that you were walking past a building, and you had a strong feeling that you have seen it somewhere before?
Or let’s say you are having coffee with your friends and for a moment it clicked that you have experienced the exact same moment before and it is not the first time.
I am sure most of you had experienced that and it felt strange, right?
It is called Déjà vu, which is a sudden overwhelming feeling of familiarity with a situation that, you know, is new to you. In French, it means “already seen”.
Swiss scholar Arthur Funkhouser describes the above two examples as Déjà visite (already visited) and Déjà vécu (already experienced) respectively to differentiate between them.
Usually, people relate this phenomenon in terms of some paranormal or supernatural activity and despite the scientific developments, this topic is poorly understood. So here we will discuss the science behind it and try to demystify it.
How Common Is This?
If we talk in percentage, then the frequency of people experiencing it will lie in the range of 30 to 80 percent. There are two main reasons that we can’t say the exact numbers.
Firstly, the results depend on the survey, and we can’t ask everyone in the world, so the survey is to be done on a group of people.
Second and the major reason is people will give different responses according to the definition of Déjà vu they understand. If they don’t get it, their response might vary.
Therefore, the survey is perception-based rather than any physical measurable quantity and that is a very tricky thing to analyze empirically.
This phenomenon is mostly observed in young people between the age of 15 to 25.
This might also happen with children below the age of 15 but this can’t be said for sure because children are not able to tell if the reality they are experiencing is more familiar than it should be or not.
Usually, what baffles researchers that the occurrence of Déjà vu slumps after the age of 25.
One reason for this fall of the graph could be that people above the age of 25 don’t focus much on the differentiation between the feeling of familiarity and the reality of the situation.
Déjà Vu Explained By Science
In the words of Trinity (Carrie Ann), in the movie Matrix,
Déjà vu is the glitch in the Matrix.
Well for a science fiction movie it would be a wonderful plot but let’s keep that limited to movies only. Researchers have worked diligently to figure out what actually this phenomenon is.
Since, Déjà vu can occur in people with and without any medical condition, there are a lot of hypothesis regarding how and why this happens.
A few psychoanalysts explains that it is because of our dreams and wishes, while a few therapists attribute it to a crisscrossing in the cerebrum that makes the mind botch the present for the past.
Numerous parapsychologists trust it is linked with a past life experience.
Clearly, there is a scope for more research to be finished.
Medical Condition
Déjà vu is sometimes associated with temporal lobe epilepsy, which is a nervous disorder where there is a temporary seizure in the brain’s temporal lobe.
During this, there is a sensation of familiarity with the current situation with an experience of the past.
Researchers have tried to link Déjà vu with some kind of mental disorder in the past but couldn’t find any plausible diagnostic value.
Memory Involvement
In 2006 Leeds Memory Group tried to create artificial memory.
They showed a list of words to the participants and told them to memorize it. Later by performing hypnosis they planted the idea in their mind that if they see the word in a particular color frame they will sense a feeling of having seen that word before already.
People experienced Déjà vu when they were shown some words with the colored frame which were not in the original list but they had a strong feeling of familiarity with those words.
This could suggest that brain records memory even it is too old and whenever it encounters somewhat similar if the not exact situation, it tries to find a connection by looking into our archives of memory we created in our lifetime.
And that happens just for a split second. Our brain is truly amazing!
There are many other explanations beyond this one.
In one similar study, researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to see the activities of the brain of participants when they experience lab-made Déjà vu.
Interestingly, their hippocampus was not triggered, which is responsible for our memories and emotions, instead their frontal lobe was seen active, which is responsible for decision-making.
It is like the brain is trying to solve a conflict between overlapping realities which are although different but are trying to create a bridge between them.
Conclusion
Déjà vu is a very fascinating and at the same time weird experience which is difficult to explain.
Since it is experienced mostly by young people, therefore it tells they are actively observing and analyzing their surroundings which is, in fact, a very good thing.
No doubt researchers are brainstorming over Déjà vu as it is a very interesting topic to investigate but it becomes tricky because the human brain is very baffling sometimes.
How many times have you felt Déjà vu? Do share your experience in the comments below.
