Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 26, Issue 8, Pages 2235-2240Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4792-05.2006
Keywords
memory; visual perception; anatomy; amnesic; hippocampus; medial temporal lobe
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Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [R01 MH024600-32, 5-T32-MH20002, R01 MH024600] Funding Source: Medline
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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.
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