Testing the role of temporal attention in speech: Pre-target alpha predicts memory encoding rather than effects of linguistic focus.

The rapid, continuous flow of speech often places strong demands on attention. Listeners are thought to meet these demands by using linguistic focus cues to predict when important information will occur and to allocate temporal attention accordingly. Yet direct neural evidence for focus-driven modulations of preparatory attention is lacking. We address this gap by measuring EEG alpha power (8-13 Hz), an index of temporal attentional preparation ( N = 40; 26 female, 12 male, 2 non-binary). Using an auditory question–answer paradigm, we tested whether pre-target alpha power tracks the temporal prioritization of focused words in the discourse. We found that pre-target alpha was comparable before focused and defocused words, inconsistent with the view that attention is temporally pre-allocated to discourse-relevant information. Instead, trial-by-trial fluctuations in pre-target alpha modulated a centro-parietal ERP Subsequent Memory Effect (SME) for focused words, linking preparatory attention to depth of processing and memory encoding during comprehension. These findings constrain theories of attention in language, indicating that alpha-band activity primarily indexes an encoding-ready state that predicts subsequent memory, rather than focus-driven temporal attentional pre-allocation. Significance statement As spoken language unfolds over time, listeners are hypothesized to prepare for informative content by pre-allocating attention in time, yet direct neural support for this view has been scarce. Using pre-target EEG alpha power as an index of preparatory attention, we examined whether listeners use linguistic focus cues to pre-allocate attention to the timing of focus-marked (novel) information in discourse. We observed no focus-related increase; instead, moment-to-moment fluctuations in preparatory alpha predicted the depth of processing and the encoding of novel information into memory, modulating subsequent neural and behavioral responses. Thus, preparatory alpha reflects an encoding-ready state that supports successful memory encoding, rather than the dynamic pre-allocation of attention to linguistically focused information.