One study used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 21 participants as they experienced a kind of lab-induced dР“В©jР“В vu. However, researchers have begun to push back on this idea. This form of dР“В©jР“В vu would be similar to the feeling when you canРІР‚в„ўt differentiate between something that really happened versus a dream. Others blame the rhinal cortex-the area of the brain that signals that something feels familiar-for somehow being triggered without the memories to back it up.Р”Р„nother theory is that dР“В©jР“В vu is associated with false memories-memories that feel real but arenРІР‚в„ўt. Some say itРІР‚в„ўs like a short in the circuits in our brain leading toР’В long- versus short-term memoryР’В so that new incoming information goes straight to long term memory instead of making a stop in the short term memory bank. We're left with a feeling of familiarity that we canРІР‚в„ўt quite place.Р”В«eyond this general explanation, there are dozensР’В of theories that attempt to explain why our memories might malfunction in this way. So our brain recognizes the similarities between our current experience and one in the past. These experiments have led scientists to suspect that dР“В©jР“В vu is a memory phenomenon.Р’В We encounter a situation that is similar to an actual memory but we canРІР‚в„ўt fully recall that memory. (For example, all of the bushes in a virtual garden were replaced with piles of trash to create a junkyard with the same layout.)

One study found that participants reported experiencing dР“В©jР“В vu when moving through the virtual reality Sims video gameР’В when one scene was purposefully created to spatially map to another. Other scientists have attempted to bring on dР“В©jР“В vu using virtual reality. Then patients in the different groups were given a suggestion to either forgetР’В orР’В rememberР’В the memory, which could later trigger the sense of dР“В©jР“В vu when they encountered the game or word. That memory was usually something simple like playing a game or looking at a printedР’В word in a certain color. In a 2006 study by Leeds Memory Group, researchers would first create a memoryР’В for patients under hypnosis. Scientists have tried to effectively recreate dР“В©jР“В vu in the lab. But scientists have tried using tricks like hypnosisР’В and virtual reality. The very things that intrigue us about dР“В©jР“В vu are the same things that make it hard to study. We associate the feeling of dР“В©jР“В vu with mystery and even the paranormal because it is fleeting and usually unexpected. That explanation is perfect for cyberpunk science fiction, but it doesn't give us any scientific understanding of the phenomenon.

Spooky!Р”В¬arrie-Anne Moss, as Trinity in The Matrix trilogy, tells us (and Keanu Reeves as Neo) that dР“В©jР“В vu is a ' glitch in the Matrix'-the simulated reality that keeps humanity unaware that intelligent machines have actually taken over the world. Some think dР“В©jР“В vu is a sign that you're recalling an experience from a past life. We call that sensation dР“В©jР“В vu, a French phrase thatР’В means 'already seen.' But what isР’В dР“В©jР“В vu, and can science explain why it happens? DР“В©jР“В vu feels like a 'glitch in the Matrix' AND if I have inherited some of Bob's memories, Bob likely lived and died relatively near my area, so it explains why we have a good chance of visiting some of the same locations.Wait, have I been here before? Have we stood in this exact spot as you said these same words to me at some point in the past? HavenРІР‚в„ўt I seen this very cat pass by this very hallway already? Sometimes, as we experience a new event or place, we get that creepy feeling that it's not the first time. Chances are, if you're only going to remember one, you'd probably remember your childhood house rather than that one time you fell down the stairs in said house. It also explains why they're usually locations rather than specific memories individual experiences only happen once, while locations usually are visited many times. This explains why you only have two or three memories from that life. That's 4 times where most of the body is lost. Each time you divide the rock is each time Bob's body is converted.

Why are there so few memories from Bob? Imagine this: You take a rock the size of your hand. The way this occurred is Bob died, his corpse fertilized the soil, the soil grew corn, one or both of my parents ate said corn, and then those nutrients ended up growing me. So, as an example, say my deja vu is a memory from Bob, someone who is dead. This theory involves the idea of memories from a past life (unoriginal, I know).

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