The Deja Vu Experience

Most of us have been perplexed by a strange sense of familiarity when doing something for the first time. We feel that we have been here before, or done this before, but know for sure that this is impossible. In fact, according to numerous surveys, about two-thirds of us have experienced deja vu at least once, and most of us have had multiple experiences. There are a number of credible scientific interpretations of deja vu, and this book summarizes the broad range of published work from philosophy, religion, neurology, sociology, memory, perception, psychopathology, and psychopharmacology. This book also includes discussion of cognitive functioning in retrieval and familiarity, neuronal transmission, and double perception during the deja vu experience. The Deja Vu Experience covers the recent scientific discoveries and theorizing in perception, cognition, and neurophysiology, which have the potential to help clarify the cause of the deja vu experience. In addition to summarizing the major historical and contemporary theoretical approaches to the deja vu experience, the volume will also stimulate additional research on this curious cognitive glitch.