Jamaiv vu

This webpage collects case reports of jamais vu sensations associated with migraine attacks, drawing from various sources of information in the internet.

Observation 1

"Then I had the strange impression that I was looking at all these things for the first time, and the composition of my picture came to my mind's eye."

(Giorgio de Chirico, Parisian manuscripts; cited from Soby, 1955, p. 251) [more]

Observation 2

"I recall two episodes [of jamais vu] from the 1980's when I was driving and everything seemed unfamiliar, a strange sensation of jamais vu that was accompanied by a panicky feeling as well as a pounding of my heart. The first time this occurred was in 1986. I just had a laparoscopy for endometriosis. About a week after the surgery, I was driving to a friend's house and became lost in the subdivision. He had lived there for 3 years and I knew the way very well. I just couldn't make anything look familiar. I drove around for a bit, not knowing which way to go and finally left the subdivision. I drove my car to a nearby parking lot where I sat in the car for a bit. The jamais vu feeling was brief, maybe a minute. In a few minutes I regained my bearings and proceeded to my friend’s house.

I thought it was rather strange but I didn't really give it any more thought until a similar event occurred in 1989. I was driving home from my office where I had worked for almost a year. I had taken my son for a visit and he was in the back seat of the car. I drove home the same way on the same roads I always took. On the way home I began to look around and suddenly nothing looked familiar to me, a condition which lasted some 2-3 minutes. None of the businesses I drove past looked familiar. None of the street signs or names looked familiar. I had no idea where I was or how to get home. I began to panic thinking I have my 2-year-old son in the back seat and I have no idea where I am or how I got there. I pulled the car over into a parking lot to regain my composure and try to figure out what was happening to me. I knew I SHOULD know where I was but couldn’t understand why nothing was recognizable. I began to cry so I took some deep breaths and tried to talk myself calm. In a few minutes, just as fast as things became unfamiliar, I recognized everything. I continued on my way home with no further difficulties. By the time I arrived home I had a raging migraine.

At other times, I had déjà vu sensations, but these lasted just a moment and were not followed by a headache."

(De Witt, Email to Klaus Podoll, .......)

Observation 3

"The 2 kilometre drive from my home to the restaurant in North Adelaide was very familiar. However, everything seemed unfamiliar - yet I knew that I'd seen these houses and trees countless times. My rational mind told me that these scenes were familiar - I knew they were: '... that is where Mary used to live ... that's Henry's home.' Yet they seemed almost unreal. I didn't seem to recognize the route yet I knew I was taking the right roads."

(Peter Adams, Some weird migraine auras, letter to Klaus Podoll, .........)

References

Raskin NH, Appenzeller O. Migraine: Clinical aspects. In: Smith LH (ed) Major Problems in Internal Medicine 1980; 19: 28-83.
Soby JT. Giorgio de Chirico. Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1955.

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