Why is it that sometimes I feel like I’ve been to certain places but actually I haven’t?

Answer

Best,

Déjà vu can happen at any time: you’re in a city and feel like you’ve been there before, or you’re talking to someone in a bar and suddenly feel like you’ve had the conversation before… characterized by a feeling of ‘familiarity’, which also suddenly (very quickly) disappears and which is impossible to recall.

Over time, many possible explanations have been sought for this phenomenon: evidence for reincarnation, the out-of-sync between the left and right hemispheres, etc.

A recent study suggests that déjà vu is actually an error in the brain processing new information.

For this it is necessary to briefly explain how the processing of information takes place. Everything that is registered in the brain is brought together to a single point via various ‘paths’. For example, sensory perceptions (what you see) and feelings associated with this are processed in different parts of the brain. This different information is then sent to one central point where everything is processed into one whole.

Déjà vu can arise when information is incorrectly labeled as ‘familiar’ by the sensory center of the brain (limbic system). It will therefore result in a ‘feeling of familiarity’ in a situation that is nevertheless completely new. You get the feeling that it is familiar when you actually know that this is impossible.

The reverse of déjà vu also exists: it is called jamais vu. Instead of a ‘familiar’ feeling occurring in a new situation, a familiar situation is incorrectly labeled as ‘new’. For example in your own home or in your own family. You suddenly have the feeling that you have never seen the furniture in your own home…