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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

In Vivo Evaluation of the Mechanical and Viscoelastic Properties of the Rat Tongue
Published on: July 6, 2017
[The phenomenon of the tip of the tongue in aging]
Onésimo Juncos-Rabadán1, David Facal, Montserrat Alvarez
1Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain. pejuncos@usc.es
Abstract:
This paper presents new data on the tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon and its resolution in aging. 140 volunteers ranging from 19 to 82 years participated in an experiment using definitions about common names, proper names, adjectives and verbs to elicit TOTs. We studied the resolution of the TOTs introducing a free word-recall task and a priming task. Older adults experienced more TOTs than younger adults regardless of the level of vocabulary. Phonological priming, and not free recall of words, improved resolution for the older adults. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of the transmission deficit.
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