PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Shrager, Yael AU - Gold, Jeffrey J. AU - Hopkins, Ramona O. AU - Squire, Larry R. TI - Intact Visual Perception in Memory-Impaired Patients with Medial Temporal Lobe Lesions AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4792-05.2006 DP - 2006 Feb 22 TA - The Journal of Neuroscience PG - 2235--2240 VI - 26 IP - 8 4099 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/8/2235.short 4100 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/8/2235.full SO - J. Neurosci.2006 Feb 22; 26 AB - 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.