Phonological memory is our ability to remember speech sounds (like words), which allows us to understand and learn language. In our laboratory, we explore brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while participants listen to pairs of made-up words of different lengths and decide if they are identical or different. The words can change in the content of their syllables or in the order of their syllables. This gives us insights into how the brain processes and memorizes order and content under different levels of difficulty.