If you ever need to induce that good old sense of déjà vu, Akira O’Connor at the University of St Andrews, UK, and his team knows how. NewScientist’s (20 August 2016) Jessica Hamzelou is on the case:
The team’s technique uses a standard method to create false memories. It involves reading a list of related words – such as bed, night, dream – to a participant but not the key word linking them together, in this case, sleep. When the person is later quizzed on the words they have heard, they tend to believe they have also heard “sleep” – a false memory.
To create the feeling of déjà vu, O’Connor’s team first asked people if they had heard any words beginning with “s”. The volunteers replied that they hadn’t. This meant that when they were later asked if they had heard the word sleep, they knew that they couldn’t have, but the word still felt familiar. “They report having this strange experience of déjà vu,” says O’Connor.
fMRI scan indicate the decision making areas of the brain are active during déjà vu, suggesting déjà vu to be an indication that an error checking system is signaling there may be problem with your memory. However, more studies are necessary to decipher whether the fading of déjà vu with age is a matter of memory failing or the memory check apparatus getting stronger.
Put this one in the toolkit right next to the invisible hand illusion to drive your brain up a wall.
