Imagine forever feeling like you ’ve read that newspaper clause before , or have heard those radio giver having the exact same discussion antecedently . gratefully , for the vast bulk of us , these weird touch , or déjà vu , are random and infrequent . But for one man , this sense of familiarity is so persistent that it has become enfeeble . What ’s more , the feeling seem to halt from anxiety rather than a neurological upset , which is the first time such a case has beendocumented .
Déjà vu , which literally translate to ‘ already seen , ’ is that eerie , overwhelming tone of familiarity that sometimes occur with a novel experience , such as visiting a Modern situation or have a specific conversation with someone . It ’s estimated that around70%of the population has experienced déjà vu at some stage , with a higher relative incidence come about in individual between the geezerhood of 15 and 25 . Despite its common nature , scientists know very little about it because it ’s extremelyunpredictableand therefore difficult to study .
What we do know about déjà vu has mainly come from studies on patients with a specific type of epilepsy , called worldly lobe epilepsy , as the phenomenon sometimes formspart of the seizuresin these individuals . Some dementedness patient role also experience chronic déjà vu . While it has been extensively enquire in these radical , study in other clinical populations are scarce . Now , for the first time , scientists havedescribedthe first document case of so - called “ psychogenic déjà vu , ” mean that it originates from the nous , rather than get a physiological base .
The somebody is a 23 - year - erstwhile British male who begin experiencing déjà vu back in 2007 , shortly after set out university . He had a history of palpate anxious and had obsessional - compulsive tendencies , in peculiar over hygienics . His anxiety worsened over time , guide him to take a break from his survey . It was during this time that he started experiencing sequence of déjà vu , some of which were frightening .
After pass to university , his episodes became more intense , and then fairly uninterrupted after prove the drug LSD . The déjà vu was so persistent that he eventually contain keep an eye on video , listening to the radio and study newspaper or magazines because he felt he had heard or seen it all before .
He was refer to specialists in 2008 for neurological examination , which did n’t seem to suggest any physiologic problem . His EEG and MRI scans were all normal , and he performed similarly to hold in groups on memory tests .
scientist are n’t certain what ’s conk out on , but according tocase reportauthor Christine Wells , it could be due to abnormal nerve activeness . “ The general theory is that there ’s a misfiring of neurons in the temporal lobes — which handle with recollection and familiarity,”explains Wells . “ That misfire during the process of remembrance means we interpret a import in metre as something that has already been experienced . ”
It ’s therefore possible that the individual ’s anxiety is stimulate a gang of neurons in his mental capacity to fire unsuitably , causing the déjà vu which then unfortunately leads to more anxiety , actuate the process to start again .
[ Via theJournal of Medical Case ReportsandNew Scientist ]
