The Deja Vu Experience: (Essays in Cognitive Psychology)

Most of us have been perplexed with 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. This deja vu experience has been studied since the mid-1800s and the present book summarizes the broad range of published work from philosophy, religion, neurology, sociology, memory, perception, psychopathology, and psychopharmacology. There are a number of credible scientific interpretations of deja vu, and these fall into four categories: (a) two cognitive functions (e.g. retrieval and familiarity) are momentarily out of normal synchrony; (b) a brief alteration occurs in the usual time course of neuronal transmission; (c) an implicit familiarity with part (or all) of the present situation goes unrecognized; and (d) a 'double perception' occurs where an unattended initial perception (glance) is followed immediately by perception under full attention. 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 should also stimulate additional research on this curious cognitive glitch.

Table of Contents:

Ch 1: Introduction
Ch 2: Defining the Déjà vu Experience
Ch 3: Methods of Investigating Déjà vu
Ch 4: General incidence of déjà vu
Ch 5: Nature of the Déjà vu experience
Ch 6: Physical and psychological variables related to déjà vu
Ch 7: Physiopathology and déjà vu
Ch 8: Psychopathology and déjà vu
Ch 9: Jamais vu
Ch 10: Parapsychological Interpretations of Déjà vu
Ch 11: Psychodynamic Interpretations of Déjà vu
Ch 12: Dual Process Explanations of Déjà vu
Ch 13: Neurological Explanations of Déjà vu
Ch 14: Memory Explanations of Déjà vu
Ch 15: Double Perception Explanations of Déjà Vu
Ch 16: It's Like Déjà vu All Over Again
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Footnotes
Figure Captions
Appendix A: Descriptions of déjà vu experiences
Appendix B: Summary of scientific explanations of déjà vu
Appendix C: References to déjà vu in artistic and literary works

"During the past two decades, however, a few hardy souls have reopened the scientific study of déjà vu. They hope to nail down a persuasive explanation of the phenomenon, as well as shed light on some fundamental elements of memory and cognition. In the new book The Déjà Vu Experience: Essays in Cognitive Psychology (Psychology Press), Alan S. Brown, a professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University, surveys the fledgling subfield. "What we can try to do is zero in on it from a variety of different angles," he says. "It won't be something like, 'Boom! The explanation is there.' But we can get gradual clarity through some hard work." -- The Chronicle of Higher Education
"Overall this book is an interesting and enjoyable read. The author has done a fine job of assembling and summarizing such a large and diverse body of work covering a long period of time. He demonstrates that the phenomenon is by no means beyond the reach of mainstream cognitive psychology and this book will be an invaluable source for those interested in researching this intriguing phenomenon. -- Kevin Crowley, University of Glamorgan, UK."
"the first book-length scientific study of the phenomenon since the 1980s." -- The Dallas Morning News