In this study, we measured event-related potential (ERP) responses to onomatopoeias (imitative words and mimetic words) and common words. Previous studies have shown that onomatopoeias are cognitively processed differently than common words. However, whether the temporal aspects of cognitive processing differ between onomatopoeias and common words remains unclear. The amplitude of the late positive complex (LPC), an index of sustained cognitive processing, of the ERP response to onomatopoeias was smaller than that for common words. In addition, the difference in the amplitude of the LPC between onomatopoeias and common words appeared from 200 ms until 900 ms after stimulus onset, suggesting that onomatopoeias do not require obligatory attentional capture or continued processing and encoding. Furthermore, marked differences between onomatopoeias and common words were evident in the early stages of cognitive processing. These results suggest that the temporal aspects of cognitive processing differ between onomatopoeias and common words.
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