I've probably asked this before, but why does deja vu happen

asks James:
A. D�j� vu is French for 'already seen' and describes the impression that you have already experienced what you are going through at a particular moment, or that you have already been somewhere you know you are visiting for the first time. It's defined by psychiatrists as 'any subjectively inappropriate impression of familiarity of a present experience with an undefined past'. If you have experienced it, you'll know that it leaves you feeling extremely uneasy.

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Q. What causes it
A. It has been linked with temporal-lobe epilepsy. People with this type of epilepsy can experience d�j� vu just before an attack, during seizures or in between convulsions.

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Q. Is it always caused by epilepsy
A. As up to three-quarters of the population may experience it at some time (mainly between the ages of 15 and 25), you would assume not. There are a number of theories why it happens:

• Some psychoanalysts have put it down to fantasy or wish fulfilment. As it's so common, this is generally disregarded.
• Psychiatrists have attributed it to a temporary glitch in the brain during the processes of perception and cognition. This split-second delay in awareness is said to be responsible for the impression that you are experiencing and remembering an event at the same time.
• Many para-psychologists believe it is related to a past-life experience.
• Scientists, who are learning more and more about the brain all the time, have come up with some - as yet unproven - explanations. For example, imagine your memory is a hologram: any point in the hologram has enough information to make up the whole picture - you only need a tiny piece. However, the smaller the piece, the fuzzier the picture will be. With your memory, you only need a detail - a phrase or a smell - to bring to mind a remembered scene. That's why you feel you've seen it all before.

Q. Sorry, I think I've read all this before...
A. How do you know it's not just a glitch in your brain If you want to know more, visit the D�j� vu and the Brain, Consciousness and Self web page.

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By Sheena MIller