A magnetoencephalographic component whose latency reflects lexical frequency.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measured subjects' brain responses during a lexical decision task. The words employed come from six frequency categories, which were defined in terms of a linear decrease in log-frequency. Although frequency effects in reaction-time are well-documented in studies of lexical access, a neural component whose latency predicts reaction time has not been discovered. This study identifies an MEG component (the M350) whose latency mirrors the frequency-effect.