Jamais Vu – the Opposite of Déjà Vu
July 25th 2006 07:00
Jamais Vu – the Opposite of Déjà Vu
Most of us know what Déjà vu (French, meaning ‘already seen’) is and at least 70% of us have encountered it at some point. The phenomenon is a feeling we get that we have experienced a new situation before, although it is usually attributed to a dream.
A recent ABC article describes jamais vu (‘never seen’) as the reverse of Déjà vu. UK researcher Dr Chris Moulin defines it as a sense of unfamiliarity in the face of very familiar things or situations. For example, if you stare at a word long enough it loses its meaning (as ‘the mind gets tired’), or when you’re in a familiar place but don’t think you know where you are for a brief moment.
Moulin says studying jamais vu will help researchers better understand psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia or Capgras delusion, an interesting disorder that makes people believe a close friend or relative has been replaced by an impostor.
Most of us know what Déjà vu (French, meaning ‘already seen’) is and at least 70% of us have encountered it at some point. The phenomenon is a feeling we get that we have experienced a new situation before, although it is usually attributed to a dream.
A recent ABC article describes jamais vu (‘never seen’) as the reverse of Déjà vu. UK researcher Dr Chris Moulin defines it as a sense of unfamiliarity in the face of very familiar things or situations. For example, if you stare at a word long enough it loses its meaning (as ‘the mind gets tired’), or when you’re in a familiar place but don’t think you know where you are for a brief moment.
Moulin says studying jamais vu will help researchers better understand psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia or Capgras delusion, an interesting disorder that makes people believe a close friend or relative has been replaced by an impostor.
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