DEJA VU! Scientists Find Origin of Deja Vu Pinpointed (1 Viewer)

[CSI: CRIMES ™]

The brain cranks out memories near its center, in a looped wishbone of tissue called the hippocampus. But a new study suggests only a small chunk of it, called the dentate gyrus, is responsible for “episodic” memories—information that allows us to tell similar places and situations apart.

The finding helps explain where déj* vu originates in the brain, and why it happens more frequently with increasing age and with brain-disease patients, said MIT neuroscientist Susumu Tonegawa. The study is detailed today in the online version of the journal Science.

Like a computer logging its programs’ activities, the dentate gyrus notes a situation’s pattern—it’s visual, audio, smell, time and other cues for the body’s future reference. So what happens when its abilities are jammed?

When Tonegawa and his team bred mice without a fully-functional dentate gyrus, the rodents struggled to tell the difference between two similar but different situations.

“These animals normally have a distinct ability to distinguish between situations,” Tonegawa said, like humans. “But without the dentate gyrus they were very mixed up.”

Déj* vu is a memory problem, Tonegawa explained, occurring when our brains struggle to tell the difference between two extremely similar situations. As people age, Tonegawa said déj*-vu-like confusion happens more often—and it also happens in people suffering from brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. “It’s not surprising,” he said, “when you consider the fact that there’s a loss of or damage to cells in the dentate gyrus.”

As an aging neuroscientist, Tonegawa admitted it’s a typical phenomenon with him. “I do a lot of traveling so I show up in brand new airports, and my brain tells me it’s been here before,” he said. “But the rest of my brain knows better.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience...d&printer=1;_ylt=AtpMJyweVsY_rm7X8Wg6HNazvtEF

Scientists always wanna ruin the fun of humans wanting to be supernatural. And why does everything supernatural have to be scientific??

:burn:

 

[(-(-.(-.-).-)-)]

maybe so in some cases, but science still hasn't ruled out supernatural incidences i.e. people explaining intricate details of a past life. But that's just like saying science hasn't ruled out Santa doesn't exist.

I get deja vu too, but i'm young and my neurons are firing just fine. One time i realised it was a scenario I had dreamt up being in already ... maybe i need to get my head checked. :S

 

[Not-That-Bright]

maybe so in some case, but science still hasn't ruled out supernatural incidences i.e. people explaining intricate details of a past life.

LOL if it hasn't ruled it out enough for you yet, it never will.