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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 22, 2006, 26(8):2235-2240; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4792-05.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Intact Visual Perception in Memory-Impaired Patients with Medial Temporal Lobe Lesions

Yael Shrager,¹ Jeffrey J. Gold,¹ Ramona O. Hopkins,^4,5 and Larry R. Squire^1,2,3,6

¹Departments of Neurosciences, ²Psychiatry, and ³Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, ⁴Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, ⁵LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah 84143, and ⁶Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, California 92161

Correspondence should be addressed to Larry R. Squire, Veterans Affairs Medical Center 116A, 3550 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161. Email: lsquire{at}ucsd.edu

A recent proposal that structures of the medial temporal lobe support visual perception in addition to memory challenges the long-standing idea that the ability to acquire new memories is separable from other cognitive and perceptual functions. In four experiments, we have put this proposal to a rigorous test. Six memory-impaired patients with well characterized lesions of either the hippocampal region or the hippocampal region plus additional medial temporal lobe structures were assessed on difficult tests of visual perceptual discrimination. Across all four experiments, the patients performed as well as controls. The results show that visual perception is intact in memory-impaired patients with damage to the medial temporal lobe even when perception is assessed with challenging tasks. Furthermore, the results support the principle that the ability to acquire new memories is a distinct cerebral function, dissociable from other perceptual and cognitive functions.

Key words: memory; visual perception; anatomy; amnesic; hippocampus; medial temporal lobe

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Received Sept. 15, 2005; revised Jan. 12, 2006; accepted Jan. 13, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Larry R. Squire, Veterans Affairs Medical Center 116A, 3550 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161. Email: lsquire{at}ucsd.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Shrager, D. A. Levy, R. O. Hopkins, and L. R. Squire Working Memory and the Organization of Brain Systems J. Neurosci., April 30, 2008; 28(18): 4818 - 4822. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. C. H. Lee, V. L. Scahill, and K. S. Graham Activating the Medial Temporal Lobe during Oddity Judgment for Faces and Scenes Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2008; 18(3): 683 - 696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Bartko, B. D. Winters, R. A. Cowell, L. M. Saksida, and T. J. Bussey Perceptual Functions of Perirhinal Cortex in Rats: Zero-Delay Object Recognition and Simultaneous Oddity Discriminations J. Neurosci., March 7, 2007; 27(10): 2548 - 2559. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J. Bayley, R. O. Hopkins, and L. R. Squire The Fate of Old Memories after Medial Temporal Lobe Damage J. Neurosci., December 20, 2006; 26(51): 13311 - 13317. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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