Déjà vu experiences in patients with schizophrenia.
To investigate whether déjà vu experiences are psychopathologic phenomena, we studied the frequency and characteristics of déjà vu experiences in patients with schizophrenia. One hundred thirteen patients with schizophrenia and 386 nonclinical control subjects were evaluated with the Inventory of Déjà vu Experiences Assessment. The frequency and features of déjà vu experiences were compared between the 2 groups. The patients with schizophrenia had déjà vu experiences less frequently (53.1%) than did the nonclinical subjects (76.2%). The frequency of déjà vu experiences did not correlate significantly with age at evaluation or education level among the patients with schizophrenia. Most characteristics of déjà vu experiences of the patients were comparable with those of the control subjects. However, the experiences of the patients tended to be longer and more monotonous. The patients often felt alert, oppressed, and disturbed by the experiences. They appeared to have the experiences under unpleasant mental or physical states. Their déjà vu experiences are not primarily different in nature from those of the nonclinical subjects. The decreased frequency of the experiences in the patients may suggest déjà vu experiences as nonpathologic phenomena.
Adachi
Takuya
T
Adachi Mental Clinic, Sapporo 004-0867, Japan.
Adachi
Naoto
N
Takekawa
Yoshikazu
Y
Akanuma
Nozomi
N
Ito
Masumi
M
Matsubara
Ryouji
R
Ikeda
Hiroshi
H
Kimura
Michihiro
M
Arai
Heii
H
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003690:Deja Vu / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires