The Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon: Cognitive, Neural, and Neurochemical Perspectives
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe article under review is dedicated to the systematization of current biochemical, cellular mechanisms and circuits underlying tip-of-tongue phenomenon. Authors claim that TOT reflects balance between excitation and inhibition, so it should be further studied or even considered as a diagnostic factor in neurodegeneration.
The article is very interesting, well-written, easy to follow.
References are relevant.
There are only a few minor moments to be clarified:
- The TOT is sometimes called “lethologica” – mention it in the introduction
- I suggest you move Fig 2 into the 2nd part, so reader can quickly grab mechanisms underlying the models. Or prepare graphical abstract, so new reader can quickly get main information from it and deepen knowledge by reading.
- Cholinergic system regulates (or better say interacts with) dopaminergic (10.3389/fnbeh.2021.661973), GABAergic (10.1016/j.heares.2020.108003), glutamatergic (10.1111/jnc.14003) systems to fine-tune neurotransmission and govern tripartite synapse functioning, say one sentence about this complex interaction in part 3.3.3.
Generally, the article is very good I can recommend it for publication in present way, however minor revision can also be done by authors.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe review article, titled "The Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon: Cognitive, Neural, and Neurochemical Perspectives," synthesizes research advances across cognitive, neuroimaging, and neurochemical domains to construct an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon. The paper has a well-organized structure, comprehensive referencing, and logical coherence.
1. Introduction Section: It would strengthen the manuscript to more clearly delineate the novel contributions of this review relative to the existing literature. Specifically, highlighting its unique synthesis of neurochemical mechanisms with multimodal neuroimaging evidence would better foreground its innovative interdisciplinary framework.
- Neurochemistry Section (Section 3.3): Although the mechanisms of GABA and glutamate are well articulated, the discussion would benefit from explicitly acknowledging a key gap: the absence of direct MRS studies investigating TOT states. A clearer statement of this limitation, along with a pointed emphasis on the necessity for future research that integrates TOT paradigms with MRS methodologies, is recommended.
- Terminology Consistency: Terminology should be standardized throughout the manuscript. For example, "E/I balance" should be consistently formatted as either the full term "excitation-inhibition balance" or its abbreviated form.
Variations such as "H-MRS" and "H MRS" should be unified to a single, consistent format.
4. Aging and Clinical Implications: In discussing aging and clinical relevance, it is important to explicitly state that the proposition of TOT as an early biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases is not yet robustly supported by empirical evidence and requires further validation through longitudinal and clinicopathological studies.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
