Have I Been Here Before? The Mystery of Déjà Vu

Déjà vu is a fascinating and puzzling experience that happens to people around the world. It’s the phenomenon of feeling like you’ve seen or experienced something before even though you definitely haven’t. It’s mysterious sensation that seems to have no explanation. The name is a French word that actually translates as ‘already seen’.

Some people believe it has something to do with past lives and remembering things that were done during this time.

Scientists, however, have a completely different outlook on the subject.

Recognition & Memory

Scientists have been trying to solve the mystery of déjà vu for many years. It’s in their nature to want answers and something such as déjà vu, which seemingly doesn’t have an exact answer, has left them puzzled for a long long time.

Most recently, scientists have started to look more closely at neuroscience – concentrating on the area of the brain that is responsible for both memory and recognition. It’s thought that there are different sections of the brain that are specialised for the past, present and for the future.

During studies on memory, each of these sections was tested individually. It was discovered that the lobe at the front of the human brain was responsible for holding future memories, the temporal lobes were for storage of past memories and the limbic portion was discovered as having a connection with the storage of present memories. When each of the lobes is working efficiently, the brain remains in working condition.

When it Breaks Down?

When the brain is not longer functioning correctly or becomes distorted, there is an increased chance that we will suffer an error in the memory system. This could result in an inconsistency in generating detailed memory from a completely new incident – making you believe you’ve experienced it before.

Scientists have several conclusions on their study of déjà vu.

They believe that it is your memory system remembering a familiar experience and that the link is past and present memories. They know that it’s also linked to the brains memory system and is triggered when there is a disturbance.

Besides this, they still don’t know exactly why it has become a common occurrence. Although with further study, they hope to come closer to an answer.

If you’re a budding scientist eager to make a breakthrough in mysterious phenomenons such as the case of déjà vu – we can help give you a head start.

As a leading supplier of lab equipment to the scientific industry, including providing high quality chemistry equipment to schools across the UK, we can provide you with the equipment needed to conduct your own investigations.

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