The Power of Déjà vu: Unlocking the Past for Human Survival

Déjà vu, the eerie sense of experiencing something new that has been experienced before, has long puzzled scientists and philosophers. Recent research suggests that déjà vu may be a mechanism for focusing attention and a possible adaptive mechanism for survival. Studies have shown that déjà vu is most commonly triggered by scenes, indicating the importance of scene-processing mechanisms in human memory. The use of virtual reality (VR) has allowed researchers to recreate and study the phenomenon, shedding light on the illusory sense of prediction and postdiction associated with déjà vu. While the exact mechanisms behind déjà vu are still not fully understood, these findings provide valuable insights into the nature of human memory and perception.