Minor brain circuit malfunctionsĪnother theory suggests déjà vu happens when your brain “glitches,” so to speak, and experiences a brief electrical malfunction - similar to what happens during an epileptic seizure. But it’s really just one continued perception of the same event. In other words, since you didn’t give the experience your full attention the first time it entered your perception, it feels like two different events. If your first view of something, like the view from a hillside, didn’t involve your complete attention, you might believe you’re seeing it for the first time.īut your brain recalls the previous perception, even if you didn’t have total awareness of what you were observing. So, you might actually take in more than you realize. Your brain can begin forming a memory of what you see even with the limited amount of information you get from a brief, incomplete glance. The first time you see something, you might take it in out of the corner of your eye or while distracted. The theory of split perception suggests déjà vu happens when you see something two different times. Below are some of the more widely accepted theories. Most agree it likely relates to memory in some way.

You might feel a bit unsettled but quickly brush off the experience.Įxperts suggest several different causes of déjà vu. The sensation may be so fleeting that if you don’t know much about déjà vu, you may not even realize what just happened. What’s more, déjà vu experiences tend to end as quickly as they begin.

Researchers can’t easily study déjà vu, partially because it happens without warning and often in people without underlying health concerns that might play a part. (It’s probably not a glitch in the Matrix.)Įxperts do, however, have a few theories about the most likely underlying causes. While déjà vu is fairly common, especially among young adults, experts haven’t identified a single cause. There’s no conclusive evidence on how common it actually is, but varying estimates suggest anywhere between 60 and 80 percent of the population experience this phenomenon.

Although déjà vu can accompany seizures in people with temporal lobe epilepsy, it also occurs in people without any health issues. You might feel a little disoriented and wonder what’s going on, especially if you’re experiencing déjà vu for the first time. Or perhaps you’re exploring a new city for the first time and all at once feel as if you’ve walked down that exact tree-lined footpath before. You’ve never done anything like it, but you suddenly have a distinct memory of making the same arm motions, under the same blue sky, with the same waves lapping at your feet. Say you go paddleboarding for the first time. “Déjà vu” describes the uncanny sensation that you’ve already experienced something, even when you know you never have.

Mans deja vu theory