The Science Behind Déjà Vu
Déjà vu is french for "already seen". It is a very controversial topic that is hard to research and study. About 70% of people between the ages of 15-25 experience this indescribable feeling. The feeling happens too rapidly and randomly, in individuals with no medical condition, this makes the whole thing up to much speculation.
Some Psychoanalysts believe that déjà vu
is due to a mismatching in the brain which causes it to mistake the past for the present. Other more radical researchers called parapsychologists believe déjà vu
may be experienced from our past life. Our memory works by taking small bits of sensory information and works to make a super detailed memory. Many think that déjà vu
is a mix-up between the sensory input and recalling output. Although this theory doesn't explain why déjà vu isn't necessarily a true past experience or memory. A related theory suggests that there is another type of malfunction between the brain's short-term and long-term circuits in the brain. Researchers ponder if the information we take in "leaks out" and mistakenly goes from short to long-term memory, this bypasses the storage transfer mechanisms that information normally goes through. When something new happens (short-term memory) it feels as if it was part of a memory before (long-term memory), this is what
déjà vu feels like. While many people have different
déjà vu experiences, one common element is that we are all conscious of it when it happens. This implies that it is not necessary for the whole brain to partake in it to make such a phenomenon occur. Through all this speculation, researchers have been able to pinpoint disturbances in the medial temporal lobe, naming this part of the brain the mastermind behind déjà vu.
More theories and explanations on
déjà vu can be found in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dYU_Vx7RH4
More theories and explanations on déjà vu can be found in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dYU_Vx7RH4
Hey "camryn c."! I find theories and experiences of déjà vu very interesting. I myself have had many cases of such and always wonder where I've experienced these things before. I find that most of my experiences of déjà vu I usually can relate to dreams that I've had in the past. It's just one of those things that I don't think even science can put to proper explanation. I do wonder one thing though after reading your post. Based on your data that 70% of people from the age of 15-25, is that stating that it is more common within this age group? If so, why is it that as our brain is undergoing the bulk of it's maturity during this period of time in our life would our brain experience more déjà vu scenarios? I can see the argument that as a younger minded person that your brain is more susceptible to imagination and one might think he saw something that has happened before. Or, if the person is older, perhaps they have experienced more in their lifetime making it a greater chance for them to experience such phenomena. Perhaps it simply is just our mind misinterpreting a scenario such as the short-term bypass theory. The world may never know.
ReplyDeleteIt's so cool to hear about science to back up a seemingly unexplainable feeling that I experience often! As I understand from your blog post there aren't very many conclusive explanations as much as theories backed up by data and research. Do you think scientists will continue to pursue an understanding of déjà vu? And do you think there is one real explanation out there for the feeling so many of us experience? I've always wondered about what could possibly be going on in my brain, as far as the signals being sent through synapses, when I expirience déjà vu. I wonder why it seems to be so easy and common for our brains, which are considered the most complex structure is the universe, to malfunction. I like the idea that déjà vu may be experienced from our past life because it seems more comforting to me than the theory of the organ that controls my being being able to chemically malfunction so easily. What existing theory do you believe to be true?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I only believe one theory, but the theory that sounds the most realistic to me is the theory of a mix-up between the sensory input and recalling output. It seems like the most logical to me,I think it best describes what déja vu feels like. I think scientists will continue studying this because some experiments I saw were done in like 2014, but I don't know if we will ever truly understand the phenomenon. I think it would also be hard to have only one explanation for this since we can all experience it a little differently. I've told you about my wacky déja vu and I don't know if science could ever put a label on it.
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