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Poster Session B: Wednesday, August 13, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Neural Mechanisms of Linguistic Working Memory: Phrase Composition, Storage and Retrieval

Théo Desbordes¹, Nina Kazanina¹; ¹University of Geneva

Presenter: Théo Desbordes

Understanding how the brain stores and manipulates linguistic information in working memory is central to understanding human cognition. Can we characterize the format of linguistic information storage in working memory? In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, participants read one-word, two-word, and five-word noun phrases followed by a matching task with a visual image. We found that individual word representations were maintained in neural activity for variable durations, depending on upcoming compositional demands. Critically, during a delay period following phrase reading, we observed a transition from word-specific to more abstract neural codes, with activity scaling alongside semantic complexity—suggesting compression of linguistic information. Retrieval dynamics revealed that access to surface-level properties was faster than to deeper semantic features, consistent with a decompression step. Finally, in ongoing work we explore potential contributions of reactivations —including coactivations and sequential replays— and oscillatory mechanisms such as phase-amplitude coupling, to the memory process. Together, these results map out the trajectory of linguistic processes, from online composition, through working memory storage, to retrieval. These findings place strong computational and biological constraints on models of linguistic working memory and could inform the design of new memory architectures in artificial conversational systems.

Topic Area: Language & Communication

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