Tracking the time course of word recognition with MEG

Twenty years ago it was discovered that recognition of semantically unexpected words is associated with a special ERP signature - the N400. Pinpointing the precise functional significance of the N400 has, however, been difficult. Recent MEG studies of word processing reveal that, in fact, the N400 decomposes into several functionally distinct subcomponents, allowing for more fine-grained investigation of its significance.