1. Simultaneous interpreting is a particularly demanding cognitive process in which language comprehension and production take place at the same time in two languages (Christoffels, de Groot & Kroll, 2006). New speech input is presented continuously and the interpreter must comprehend this input and store it in memory. A critical aspect of simultaneous interpreting is that interpreters not only have to deal with the simultaneity of input and output, but also have to comprehend an utterance in one language but produce it in another (Köpke & Nespoulous, 2006). Aim of the study : To investigate some of the cognitive skills, namely, verbal fluency and verbal working memory, required for simultaneous interpretation. Hypothesis : A cognitive profile that contains high level of verbal fluency and verbal working memory for interpreters. Introduction Verbal fluency and working memory in simultaneous interpretation K. Megari 1, M. Apostolidou 1, E. Takou 1, M. Kosmidis 1 and S. Stavrakaki 2 1 School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 2 School of Italian Language and Linguistics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Results  The interpreters showed enhanced abilities on semantic fluency and working memory, skills presumably relevant to their on-the-job semantic and dual task processing.  The foreign language teachers’ scores were closer to those of the control group rather than the interpreter group, but these differences did not reach statistical significance.  Our findings suggest that, while proficiency in a foreign language may enhance fluency and working memory skills somewhat, simultaneous interpreters have semantic processing and working memory capacities greater than that expected from mere proficiency in a foreign language. References Christoffels, I.K., de Groot, A., & Kroll, J.F.(2006). Memory and language skills in simultaneous interpreters: The role of expertise and language proficiency. Journal of Memory and Language 54 324–345 Köpke,B., & Nespoulous, J.L. (2006). Working memory performance in expert and novice interpreters. Interpreting,8, 1–23. Conclusions Method Participants: 15 professional interpreters, 15 foreign language teachers and 35 non-bilingual adults matched by age, education and years of professional experience. Materials and tasks:The participants performed three types of tasks: (a) tasks involving storage only, aimed at measuring short-term retention in the phonological loop (b) a task involving storage and processing, tapping into the Central Executive and (c) a verbal fluency task. Tasks a) Tasks involving storage only: 1. Digit recall (e.g., 5 / 9 / 2 / 6) 2. Word list recall (e.g., στρίβω / πένα / λεφτά / βέλος) 3. Nonword list recall (e.g., βωνιά / ξείχνω / ρέθα) b) A task involving storage and processing, tapping into the Central Executive. The participant must say whether the sentence is true or false and repeat the last word of the sentence 1. Listening recall (e.g., Τα χρυσόψαρα έχουν γούνα -- correct response: ψευδές / γούνα) c) Semantic and phonological verbal fluency: 1. Semantic fluency (animals / fruit / objects) 2. Phonological fluency (letters: X / Σ / Α) Verbal fluency Digit recall Word list recall Nonword list recall Listening recall p<.05 E-mail : kmegari@psy.auth.gr 4 rd Brain and Behaviour Conference, 3-6 December 2009, Thessaloniki, Greece