What is Déjà Vu?

This is eerie. Has this happened before? Ever have that feeling? That’s déjà vu. It feels like history repeating itself, or like you’re reincarnated. But it’s your memory playing tricks on you. Déjà vu lasts for about 30 seconds. Scientists have several explanations why it happens.

Déjà vu hits most people now and then. They all describe it as a feeling – a strange feeling. However,there is nothing about it that is frightening. Some people worry when the experience happens. And other people feel euphoric when déjà vu happens. To them, it’s not frightening, but a spiritual experience. Scientists say déjà vu is a memory issue.

Psychologists say that déjà vu is a neurochemical reaction in the brain. The brain receives thousands of sensory images that it stores as memories. People couldn’t handle all these memories so forgetting is the brain’s way to keep you sane. However, something in the present triggers a past memory, and you get that eerie feeling. Past, presents, and future memories are placed at different locations by the brain. Sometimes a past memory in the brain spills over to the area where a present memory is located. This scientific explanation describes déjà vu is a neural phenomenon. Scientists describe déjà vu as a memory dysfunction. Ironically, déjà vu has nothing to do with time. It’s a memory issue.

Writers use déjà vu for a theme in their books or movies. In 2006, Déjà Vu came out in the movie circuit starring Denzel Washington. An ATF agent travels back in time to save a woman.