The Feeling Of Déjà Vu
Who has never had a feeling of déjà vu?
Let’s take an example of a feeling of déjà vu: we accompany a friend to his house to see his new apartment, we pass through this small street in the city when, suddenly, a strange sensation invades us …
These trees, the architecture of the buildings, the way the sun shines on certain angles… There is something that is intimately familiar to us, but we cannot quite put our finger on it. Have we been through this street before? No, it is impossible, because it is the first time that we come to this city. So what is going on in our brain?
Scientific research
In recent years, deja vu impressions have been subjected to a series of psychological and neurophysiological research in order to obtain information on this subject.
In reality, this phenomenon is not new; it has always existed, in all cultures, through all eras, and with the same prevalence in both men and women.
The only difference we can point out is the age group (deja vu impressions are more common among 20-25 year olds). In addition, it should be noted that this phenomenon is more present in people who have a more sensitive character, or in individuals who are more creative or intuitive.
The first explanation that must be taken into account is that the impression of déjà vu is not a supernatural phenomenon.
Scientists attribute it to an overlap between the neurological systems responsible for short-term memory (events that are perceived to belong to the present) and those responsible for long-term memory (events that are perceived to belong to the past).
In other words, scientists explain deja vu impressions as a process in which the unconscious mind perceives the environment around us before the conscious mind.
A study by Akira O’Connor of the University of Leeds looked at the case of an Australian man who was a professor of literature and was born blind who continually exhibited deja vu.
His experiences were based on sensations, such as “feeling” that it was not the first time that he had set foot in this place he had never been, or that he met or spoke with strangers while. believing they were longtime friends.
This study allowed them to deduce that the impression of déjà vu is not based only on the visual channel, that is to say that when we see this street for the first time and that we feel assailed by a series of inexplicable sensations, we may have felt the same if we had been blindfolded.
So what other explanation do scientists offer for the feeling of déjà vu ?
Memory of dreams?
Today, research continues in the realm of dreams to determine how the brain “stores and reorganizes” information when we are in an unconscious state.
This is a really interesting field of study if we take into account the fact that we don’t remember most of the dreams we have at night.
A person who sleeps, can present a great deployment of activities in the cerebral areas linked to the process of long-term memory, when we dream of trips, friends, strange and improbable stories, or even stories not. so illogical that that …
It is possible that 5% of what we remember are dreams and not realities. Research will continue while we continue to feel this phenomenon that intrigues and disconcerts us …
