Have I Been Here Before?

Which idea about déjà vu does the title of the selection support?

• Déjà vu usually happens spontaneously.

• Researchers are eager to learn more about déjà vu.

• A person experiencing déjà vu may feel momentarily confused.

• People who experience déjà vu ask many questions.

The organization of the information in paragraphs 3 through 5 allows the author to —

• explain how scientists have tried to understand déjà vu but have yet to come to a definite conclusion

• describe in detail how researchers conduct experiments on participants by overlapping experiences

• identify the part of the brain that is responsible for learning and memory and how it affects déjà vu

• emphasize that determining the cause of déjà vu is critical to the scientific community

The author’s primary purpose for writing this selection is to —

• explain how research related to the brain depends on understanding more about déjà vu

• provide a firsthand account of what it feels like to experience déjà vu

• describe the circumstances under which a feeling of déjà vu may occur

• share theories and unanswered questions concerning how déjà vu happens

The result of Cleary’s experiment supports which idea about déjà vu?

• But this was proved untrue when a 2006 experiment at the University of Leeds, a world leader in déjà vu research, demonstrated that the blind also experience déjà vu.

• One early explanation of déjà vu suggested that the eyes were sending messages to the brain at different speeds.

• When a person enters the new place, the neurons processing it may misfire and retrieve details that overlap a previous experience.

• In 2007, neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researched the hippocampus, the part of the brain thought to be responsible for learning and memory.

What does the word erroneous mean in paragraph 4?

• Expected

• Incorrect

• Frequent

• Unacceptable

Based on the information in the selection, the reader can conclude that a main problem researchers studying déjà vu encounter is that —

• past research studies about déjà vu are unreliable

• most people do not remember when they have experienced déjà vu

• data collected in déjà vu experiments can be interpreted in different ways

• it is nearly impossible to gather data about a true déjà vu experience

What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

• The process of how the eyes send messages to the brain

• What happens when images from the eyes reach the brain at different times

• A hypothesis about déjà vu that was later proved wrong

• How researchers determined that blind people can experience déjà vu

The scenes from “Deja ville” pictured after paragraph 5 are important because they —

• help the reader understand the circumstances under which déjà vu may occur

• encourage the reader to be aware of the arrangement of items in a location

• show the reader that déjà vu can happen when it is least expected

• illustrate how the brain processes and stores details about a location

Why does the author include the quotation in paragraph 2?

• To tell the reader how to avoid experiencing déjà vu

• To convince the reader that déjà vu can be unhealthy

• To establish that déjà vu can be caused by many factors

• To explain why a person experiencing déjà vu feels a certain way