DÉJÀ VU

DÉJÀ  VU is a French word which literally means ‘already seen’. It is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situasion, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encou....
nter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined.

DÉJÀ  VU has to do with memory processes. There are portions of the brain that are specialized for the past, the present and the future. In general, the frontal lobes are concerned with the future, the temporal lobes are concerned with the past and the underlying, intermediate portions (the limbic system) are concerned with the present. When these are all functioning, in normal states of consciousness, the feeling that something is going to happen will only happen when we are thinking about the future, worrying about it, anticipating it or making plans for it. The sense of the past will only come up when our memories have been triggered another way.

Sometimes, we can experience over-communication between our short and long-term memories and in such instances, the present can seem like the past. When our perceptions from our present  are pushed through the sections of the brain that ordinarily deal with past memories, these perceptions will seem like memories  and we may feel as though we are re-living stored long-term memories.

In simple terms, we experience something in the present, compare it to similiar experiences in the past and decide how will respond. The time frame can be very brief; even a few seconds. Once in a while though, there can be too much communication between short and long-term memories. When this happens, then the present can feel like the past.