New Research Explains "Tip Of The Tongue" Experiences

ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2000) — WASHINGTON - That frustrating experience when the word you are looking for is right on the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to get it out has been studied by scientists for decades. Explanations for the experience, labeled the "tip-of-the-tongue" or TOT state by researchers who study it, has, up until now, revolved around a blocking theory that suggested that words of similar meaning or sound "blocked" the path of the word you were looking for.
In new research, published in the November issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, published by the American Psychological Association,

Aphasia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aphasia ( from Greek, aphatos : 'speechless' ), is also known as aphemia, and is a loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language, due to injury to brain areas specialized for these functions, Broca's area, which governs language production, or Wernicke's area, which governs the interpretation of language. It is not a result of deficits in sensory, intellect, or psychiatric functioning,[1] nor due to muscle weakness or a cognitive disorder.
Depending on the area and extent of the damage, someone suffering from aphasia may be able to speak but not write, or vice versa, or display any of a wide variety of other deficiencies in language comprehension and production, such as being able to sing but not speak. Aphasia may