This is especially true if it’s accompanied by unusual dream-like memories, a loss of consciousness, a racing heart, or a feeling of fear. According to the Cleveland Clinic, if you’re experiencing déjà vu as often as several times a month, you may want to consult a neurologist. However, there are some instances when it may be a sign of a condition that requires medical attention. When Is Déjà Vu A Cause For Concern?ĭéjà vu seems to be a relatively common, harmless phenomenon in most cases. More research is necessary in order to know for sure. In other words, this relatively mysterious occurrence in the brains of those who do not have a neurological condition may be linked to a variety of causes or contributing factors. Yet another study found a link between frequent déjà vu and the use of the flu medications amantadine and phenylpropanolamine-including one case study where a person had several instances of déjà vu per hour until they stopped taking the medication. Are well-educated and/or have a high income.Interestingly, another frequently cited study found a correlation between more frequent déjà vu and people who: There may also be a link to stress and tiredness since both can affect short-term or long-term memory. Who Is More Likely To Experience Déjà Vu?Īgain, researchers are still in the process of discovering why some people may experience déjà vu more than others if they don’t have a neurological condition. The research cited above also proposed that déjà vu could be caused by “a brief split in a continuous perceptual experience that is caused by distractions and gives the impression of two separate perceptual events.” If your brain gets distracted for a split second while you’re taking in a new experience and then returns to the experience, it might process the first moments of it as separate-a past memory. A brief split in a perceptual experience.So when it does, you recognize it as a past memory. The result of this temporary lag is “a slightly longer separation between identical messages received from two separate pathways.” You can think of this as the brain taking an extra second to process a memory it just made. Other research postulates that it’s caused by a brief change in the normal speed of neural transmission. In other words, those who had less gray matter volume in a certain region of the brain tended to experience déjà vu more frequently. It found that the volume was inversely correlated with the frequency of the phenomenon. One study compared gray matter volume in the brain between healthy subjects that did and did not experience déjà vu. Some various theories, connections, and findings include:

In neurologically healthy individuals, the underlying causes are still unknown. People who experience focal seizures may suddenly feel an intense déjà vu before the seizures occur. In individuals with this condition, a sense of déjà vu may precede the onset of a seizure.

In an academic review of research on the topic, a connection between frequent déjà vu and certain neurological conditions, such as temporal lobe epilepsy, has been made. These theories may involve different concepts ranging from reincarnation to unconscious memories. There are a few theories about the cause of déjà vu according to literature and cultural or religious traditions. The sudden feeling of familiarity during déjà vu could be linked to nerve cell activity in a healthy brain, as the brain processes new information and tries to connect it to existing memories. It typically occurs on an irregular basis, but déjà vu can leave some with such a strange sensation that they remember it for months or years. It’s not just a feeling of familiarity, but also the knowledge that the familiarity is false. This term is French for “already seen.” The dictionary definition is “a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.” Usually very brief and fleeting, this odd sense can feel unsettling and inexplicable because your brain is telling you that you recognize a place, scene, or event that you know is brand-new to you. While it’s fairly common, it occurs in some people more than others-and although it’s typically harmless, frequent experiences of it are associated with some neurological conditions. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ve done or seen this before,” in the middle of a new experience, it might have been the neurological phenomenon known as déjà vu.

De ja vu meaning