The Embedding of Memory: A Study on Déjà Vu

October 13, 2026

X. Tran

11th Grade

The most popular trope within Coming of Age media is arguably Déjà Vu. It’s that eerie feeling you get when you feel like you’ve already lived through or experienced the exact situation, despite it happening for the first time. It could come from any of our senses, maybe a familiar tune from a childhood song, a recognizable smell you catch from the old restaurant right across town, or a playthrough of an old video game. But why do we experience déjà vu? Why does memory leave such a distinct feeling?

Déjà Vu: Why We Experience It

Researchers have generally connected the feeling of déjà vu to the brain’s memory and recognition systems. The most common explanation is that the brain finds something recognizable without being able to properly determine where the familiarity came from; in short, creating the conflict between “this feels familiar” and “this is new.” This typically happens when a new experience is similar to something previously stored in our memory. Although we may not consciously remember the earlier experience in connection to the new experience, through small or peculiar details such as item arrangements, setting appearance, or just the overall situation, we can create a feeling of familiarity for ourselves. In a virtual reality experiment, many people reported more déjà vu when a new scene had a similar arrangement to a scene they had previously seen, reflecting how an original experience could still convey a sense of familiarity.  

What Often Triggers It / Connections to Environment and One’s Self

Generally, the most common triggers of déjà vu are physical settings, environments, and travel. With the brain using these things as memory cues, small details such as location layout, lighting, or other features can remind the brain of an older experience without bringing the actual memory into consciousness. Research on memory further supports how spatial contexts can act as powerful cues for retrieving memories. Déjà Vu is also heavily connected to a person’s own memories and experiences, since the feeling depends on how a certain individual’s brain processes a certain situation with information stored from the past, further reflected through media with depictions of déjà vu. As mentioned in the beginning, most portrayals of deja vu are often found through coming-of-age media. This is especially common in coming-of-age media, where déjà vu often symbolizes nostalgia, personal growth, and the strange feeling of revisiting familiar experiences while transitioning into a new stage of life. It’s the most notable trope in displaying how our past experiences continue to shape our present, even when we do not fully recognize their influence. Ultimately, déjà vu highlights the complex relationship between memory, environment, and personal identity, showing how even the smallest details can connect us to experiences we thought we had forgotten.