Chapter 09 — Big & Curious
What causes déjà vu?
The best-supported explanation is a brief mismatch in memory processing: the familiarity system fires without the recollection system supplying a source, so the moment feels remembered without being placeable. It's most common in young adults and decreases with age.
Follow-up questions
Is déjà vu a sign of a problem?
Occasional déjà vu is normal. Frequent episodes with an aura, smell, or loss of awareness can indicate temporal lobe epilepsy and should be assessed.
Why is déjà vu more common when tired?
Fatigue and stress disrupt the timing of memory encoding and retrieval, making the familiarity-without-source glitch more likely.
What is jamais vu?
The opposite sensation — a familiar word, place, or face suddenly feeling completely unfamiliar. It's rarer and can be induced by repeating a word many times.
Can déjà vu be studied in a lab?
Yes. Researchers induce it with virtual-reality scenes that share spatial layout with earlier scenes participants can't consciously recall.
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