**Tip of the tongue** (also known as **TOT**, or **lethologica**) is the phenomenon of failing to retrieve a word or term from memory, combined with partial recall and the feeling that retrieval is imminent.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_1991-1) The phenomenon's name comes from the saying, "It's on the tip of my tongue."[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2)[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Rastle_Burke_1996-4) The tip of the tongue phenomenon reveals that lexical access occurs in stages.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Beattie_1999-5)[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_2011-6) People experiencing the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon can often recall one or more features of the target word, such as the first letter, its syllabic stress, and words similar in sound, meaning, or both sound and meaning.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3) Individuals report a feeling of being seized by the state, feeling something like mild anguish while searching for the word, and a sense of relief when the word is found.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3)[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-James-7) While many aspects of the tip-of-the-tongue state remain unclear, there are two major competing explanations for its occurrence: the _direct-access view_ and the _inferential view_. Emotion and the strength of the emotional ties to what is trying to be remembered can also have an impact on the TOT phenomenon. The stronger the emotional ties, the longer it takes to retrieve the item from memory.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-8) TOT states should be distinguished from **FOK** ( **feeling of knowing**) states. FOK, in contrast, is the feeling that one will be able to recognize⁠—from a list of items⁠—an item that is currently inaccessible. There are still currently opposing hypotheses in the psychological literature regarding the separability of the process underlying these concepts. However, there is some evidence that TOTs and FOKs draw on different parts of the brain. TOTs are associated with the anterior cingulate, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right inferior cortex while FOKs are not.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_2006-9) FOKs can be assessed through memory-monitoring testing in which a test subject is asked to "estimate the likelihood" of recognizing when "prompted with a cue" or information that they previously failed to remember.[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-ReferenceA-10)[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-11) This test aims to measure a test subject's accuracy of memory monitoring during the "memory extraction stage".[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-12)[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-ReferenceA-10) An occasional tip-of-the-tongue state is normal for people of all ages; however, it becomes more frequent as people age.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_1991-1) TOT can be referred as an actual medical condition, but only when it becomes frequent enough to interfere with learning or daily life. This disorder is called anomic aphasia when acquired by brain damage, usually from a head injury, stroke, or dementia.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-13) The tip of the tongue phenomenon has implications for research in psycholinguistics, memory, and metacognition.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) ## History The term "tip of the tongue" is borrowed from colloquial usage,[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) and possibly a calque from the French phrase _avoir le mot sur le bout de la langue_ ("having the word on the tip of the tongue"). The tip of the tongue phenomenon was first described as a psychological phenomenon in the text _The Principles of Psychology_ by William James (1890), although he did not label it as such.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-James-7) Sigmund Freud also discussed unconscious psychological factors, such as unconscious thoughts and impulses that might cause forgetting familiar words.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Freud-14) The first empirical research on this phenomenon was undertaken by Harvard researchers Roger Brown and David McNeill and published in 1966 in the _Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior_.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3) Brown and McNeill wanted to determine whether the feeling of imminent retrieval experienced in the tip of the tongue state was based on actual retrieval ability or was just an illusion.[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Baddeley-15) In their study, Brown and McNeill read out definitions (and _only_ the definitions) of rare words to the study participants, and asked them to name the object or concept being defined. When the target word was later read by the experimenter participants were instructed to report whether they experienced a tip of the tongue state.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3)[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Baddeley-15) Three types of positive TOT states were identified by Brown and McNeill: 1. The participant recognized the word read by the experimenter as the word he had been seeking. 2. The participant correctly recalled the word before it was read by the experimenter. 3. The subject recalled the word they were seeking before the target word was read by the experimenter, but the recalled word was not the intended target.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3) If a participant indicated a tip of the tongue state, they were asked to provide any information about the target word they could recall.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3)[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Baddeley-15) Brown and McNeill found that participants could identify the first letter of the target word, the number of syllables of the target word, words of similar sound, words of similar meaning, syllabic pattern, and the serial position of some letters in the target word better than would be expected by chance.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Brown_McNeill_1966-3)[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Baddeley-15) Their findings demonstrated the legitimacy of the feeling of knowing experienced in a tip of the tongue state. This study was the foundation for subsequent research about tip of the tongue phenomenon. ## Universality Tip of the tongue experiences occur in both men and women, and is known to occur in young adulthood, middle age, and older adulthood. TOT experiences in childhood have not been studied. Education level is not thought to be a factor in the experience of TOT states.[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-16) Monolinguals, bilinguals, and multilinguals all experience tip of the tongue states, although with varying frequencies (see §⁠Effects of bilingualism below). Many languages other than English have equivalent colloquial terms for the tip of the tongue experience, suggesting that it is a common experience across cultures.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) In a study by B. L. Schwartz (1999), 45 of the 51 languages surveyed have an idiom referring to the tip of the tongue phenomenon that references the tongue, mouth, or throat as a metaphor.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) The direct English translations of these idioms are "on the tongue", "on the tip/point/head of the tongue", "on the top of the tongue", "on the front of the tongue", "sparkling at the end of the tongue", and "in the mouth and throat".[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) Notably, the languages studied that did not have an equivalent idiom for the tip of the tongue were American Sign Language, Amharic, Icelandic, Kalenjin, and Kiswahili.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) However, tip of the finger experiences are reported by signers.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-17) ## Causes See also: Influential factors The causes of TOTs are largely unknown but numerous explanations have been offered. These explanations mainly fall within the realms of two overarching viewpoints: the direct-access view and the inferential view.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) ### Direct-access view The **direct-access view** posits that the state occurs when memory strength is not enough to recall an item, but is strong enough to trigger the state.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2) That is, the rememberer has direct access to the target word's presence in memory, even though it cannot be immediately recalled. Theories of the causes of tip of the tongue phenomenon that adopt direct-access views include the blocking hypothesis, the incomplete-activation hypothesis, and the transmission-deficit model.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-Schwartz_1999-2)