E NEUROLINGUISTIC CORRELATES OF PRAGMATIC INFERENCE AND COGNITIVE CONTEXT FORMATION

Egamberdiyeva Hilola Salimovna

Authors

Egamberdiyeva Hilola Salimovna PhD Candidate (3rd Year), Department of Uzbek Language, Journalism and Computational Linguistics Samarkand Stat,e Institute of Foreign Languages, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Keywords:

neurolinguistics; Pragmatic inference; Implicature; Cognitive context formation; Theory of mind; N400; P600/LPC; Left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG); Temporoparietal junction (TPJ); Functional connectivity.

Abstract

pragmatic inference enables interlocutors to derive meanings that go beyond the literal signal, while cognitive context formation builds and maintains the situation model that constrains such inferences in real time. This article synthesizes neurolinguistic evidence to identify the brain networks and temporal dynamics that underlie these processes. Drawing on ERP and fMRI findings, we argue that pragmatic inference is realized through coordinated interactions between the left-hemisphere language network (left inferior frontal gyrus, middle/superior temporal regions) and social-cognitive circuits implicated in theory of mind (medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus). Inferential integration typically elicits enhanced N400 responses for expectancy mismatch followed by late positivities (P600/LPC) indexing reanalysis and discourse updating; fMRI shows increased activation and connectivity among IFG–MTG and ToM nodes under higher inferential load. Executive control regions (ACC/DLPFC) support conflict monitoring and selection, while right-hemisphere contributions (prosody, global coherence) modulate context building. Cross-linguistic considerations (e.g., English vs. Uzbek) suggest shared neural architecture with culture-specific weighting of cues. We propose a unified model in which language, theory-of-mind, and control networks dynamically couple to construct, predict, and revise meaning during communication.

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