Deja Vu

Deja vu is the phenomenon of feeling as though one has already lived through the present situation, even though the time, place and circumstances of the supposed earlier experience cannot actually be identified. It is best understood as an illusion of memory: despite a strong subjective sense of recollection, no genuine prior encounter with the situation exists. Roughly two-thirds of people surveyed report experiencing deja vu at least once in their lives, and it occasionally occurs as a symptom of seizure auras, with some researchers linking frequent or chronic deja vu to underlying neurological or psychiatric conditions. Studies have also found the experience to be reported more often by people of higher socioeconomic status and educational attainment, by younger people, and by those who travel frequently, watch many films, or often remember their dreams.