Medical News Today Many people have heard of and probably experienced déjà vu — the strange feeling you have already seen or experienced something as you are seeing or experiencing it. But very few people know about the opposite of déjà vu, known as jamais vu, when a familiar experience feels new. Why does it happen, and what takes place in the brain?
Jamais vu, which in French means “never seen,” is a phenomenon many people may not have heard of. However, almost everyone has experienced it in their lives.
Have you ever suddenly looked at a word that you write frequently and questioned whether you spelled it correctly, as if you we seeing it for the first time? That could be jamais vu.
Or have you walked into your childhood home as an adult, and for some reason, the living room — which has not changed — feels completely unfamiliar to you? That is jamais vu.
While jamais vu can be disconcerting, what does it mean for our health? What happens to the brain to cause jamais vu? And does it have any implications for brain health and mental health?
Medical News Today spoke with six medical experts to get the lowdown on this unusual occurrence.
What is jamais vu?
In basic terms, jamais vu is the experience of feeling unfamiliar with something that is very familiar to you.
“We describe jamais vu as the opposite of déjà vu — it is the feeling that something is unreal or unusual, whilst at the same time knowing it is something you are very familiar with,” Dr. Chris Moulin, a researcher in the Laboratoire de Psychologie & NeuroCognition at the Université Grenoble Alpes in France, and lead author of a study on jamais vu, told MNT.