
It’s caused by disease or injury of some kind, particularly damage to or malfunction of the frontal lobe, the part of the brain that handles memory.

This latter form is usually accompanied by other symptoms and is termed pathological déjà vu. But why was it a parapsychologist - someone who studies psychic phenomena - who was so interested in it? The name itself is fairly self-explanatory-déjà vu means “already seen” in French. The phenomenon was first named by French parapsychologist Émile Boirac in 1876. You feel you’re eating cheese straight out of the fridge at 2am – we know it’s not the first time. Well, according to professor of psychological science James Michael Lampinen, déjà vu is “a strong sense of global familiarity that occurs in a seemingly novel situation.” It’s that little nagging voice in your head saying “I’ve been here before” when you know that’s not the case.

But what exactly is déjà vu, and what causes it? What Exactly Is Déjà Vu, And What Causes It?

That sensation, of course, is déjà vu, and between 60% to 80% of us will experience it at some point in our lives. What Is Déjà Vu?Ĭhances are that like good old Bill Murray - you’ve had that strange feeling where you feel like you’ve already experienced a situation before, even though you know you haven’t. The film Groundhog day, released in 1998, is set in the town of Woodstock - and tells the story of Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors, who repeatedly relives February 2nd.
