Neurofunctional Correlates of the Tip-of-the-Tongue State

Introduction Naming is the result of complex cognitive processes, as it involves remembering the verbal label associated with an object, action, place, animal, or person. Naming requires retrieval of a label and its spoken or written production. However, although we know the names of many people, animals, or things, in the course of daily life, the naming of known names can fail momentarily. A universal experience is the annoying feeling of wanting to say a word and not being able to, while being completely sure that we know it, that we have recalled it in the past, and that we are on the verge of retrieving it. This experience is, of course, the “tip-of-the-tongue state” (TOT). One of the main features of the phenomenon lies in the temporary inability to access information that is undoubtedly registered in the memory stores of the person who presents a TOT. Understanding how this phenomenon occurs, therefore, may be helpful to understand how the mechanisms of accessing information stored in memory take place. We also think that TOTs can aid our understanding of memory retrieval disorders.