Almost everyone has experienced it at one point in their lives – a feeling like you’ve done something or have been somewhere before. A certainty that the events playing out at that exact moment have already happened.

Sometimes the feeling can be so strong that you think you might be able to predict what is going to happen within the next few seconds. That feeling is called “Deja vu“. Does this feeling have an opposite? Let’s find out.

What Is Deja Vu?

As described above, deja vu is the vague feeling that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation. While the cause still remains unknown, there are two popular theories that explain the phenomenon. The first proposes that it is a simple anomaly of a person’s memory.

Since many aspects of a human brain resemble and operate like a computer, it isn’t farfetched to think that a brain can also have the occasional ‘glitch’. The anomaly or glitch in your memory causing the deja vu is the result of an overlap between the neurological systems responsible for short-term memory and long-term memory. Simply put, your brain is storing the current events into your memory before the conscious part of the brain has a chance processes it.

The second theory deals with the eyes. It suggests that one eye may record what is seen slightly faster than the other, creating a “strong recollection” sensation upon the “same” scene being viewed milliseconds later by the opposite eye. However, this hypothesis does not explain deja vu when other sensory inputs are involved, such as hearing or touch. People with loss of sight or are blind in one eye also experience deja vu.

What Is The Opposite Of Deja Vu?

The opposite of deja vu is called Jamais vu. It’s a French word meaning “never seen”. It’s the feeling or experience that a person knows or recongnizes a situation, but that it still seems very unfamiliar or unknown. A common example of Jamais vu is when a person momentarily does not recognize a word, person, or place that they already know.

Jamais vu can also be associated with certain types of amnesia and epilepsy. With seizures, jamais vu can surface as a visual aura due to a partial seizure disorder which originates from the temporal lobe. It also can occur as a migraine aura. There is also ongoing related research in schizophrenia patients. Some researchers believe that the symptom of a schizophrenic believing a familiar person has been replaced by an impostor to be the result of chronic jamais vu.

Bonus Fact: The feeling that something is on the tip of your tongue is called “Presque vu“. The term is also French and means “almost seen”. It is the sensation of being on the brink of an epiphany.

References:

“What is deja vu?“. Psychology Today. 2010-01-05.

Health & Medical News – Is it really you or jamais vu? – 19 July 2006



