Aug 9, 2008

Memory Explanations (Part 3)

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Extending the single-element position in a different direction, Sno and Linszen (1990) proposed a holographic explanation of deja vu (see also Meurs & Fies, 1993). If memories are stored as holograms (cf. Pribram, 1969), then each memory involves a unique pattern of neural activation involving the entire cortex. That is, a memory (first kiss, favorite song) is not based on physical storage but on a unique wave form pattern of neural activation. If any perceptual element in a new scene overlaps with an element of a previous memory, then this has the potential to reactivate the entire old memory (Kafka, 1989). If only the implicit familiarity component of that prior experience is reactivated, a deja vu results. However, if both implicit and explicit components are reactivated, the present setting simply reminds the person of a prior experience.

The single-element interpretation of a deja vu is also related to the Poetzl (1917/1960) phenomenon, in which elements of a briefly presented stimulus appear later as a response in an unstructured generation task such as free association, day dreaming, or doodling (cf. N. F. Dixon, 1971). Whereas later extensions of this research evaluated a psychoanalytic theory of dreams, Poetzl’s work was experimentally oriented and involved subthreshold presentations of simple stimuli, or brief suprathreshold presentations of complex visual scenes. The Poetzl phenomenon occurs when these stimulus elements are not immediately accessible (remembered) but appear later in subsequent free associations to word or pictorial stimuli (Allers & Teler, 1924/1960; Erdelyi, 1970; Haber & Erdelyi, 1967; Shevrin & Fritzler, 1968; Silverman & Silverman, 1964). Although usually evaluated through recall procedures, the Poetzl phenomenon could occur with recognition as well, and could underlie the deja vu experience.

The above interpretations focus on a single element; however, it is possible that several familiar elements are involved in a déjà vu experience (Findler, 1998; Fleminger, 1991; Wohlgemuth, 1924). Wohlgemuth (1924) presented an extensive analysis of a personal deja vu experience and found that three elements in the setting duplicated aspects of three separate episodic memories. He speculated that these multiple single elements summated to create an unusually strong feeling of familiarity, whereas none of the individual elements’ contextual associations was sufficiently strong to reach threshold, or competition among the separate contextual associations blocked access to any specific episodic memory. This mechanism is similar to that proposed by Hintzman (1988) in his MINERVA model of memory.

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