Accommodating the continuum hypothesis with the déjà vu/déjà vécu distinction

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• The continuum hypothesis suggests shared neurocognitive underpinnings for déjà vu and involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs).
• A key challenge is reconciling the differing neurocognitive signatures of familiarity and episodic recollection within this framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a resolution to the discontinuity issue in the continuum hypothesis regarding déjà vu and IAMs.
• To differentiate between episodic and semantic memory continuities to explain shared and distinct neural processes.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis and theoretical integration of existing research on déjà vu, IAMs, familiarity, and episodic recollection.
• Distinguishing between déjà vécu (episodic IAM continuity) and déjà vu (semantic IAM continuity).

Main Results:

• The neurocognitive processes underlying déjà vu and IAMs can be reconciled by differentiating between episodic and semantic memory continuities.
• A proposed distinction between déjà vécu/episodic IAM continuity and déjà vu/semantic IAM continuity addresses the familiarity-recollection signature difference.

Conclusions:

• The continuum hypothesis can be upheld by distinguishing between episodic and semantic aspects of memory continuity.
• This distinction offers a framework for understanding the shared and distinct neurocognitive processes of déjà vu and involuntary autobiographical memories.