Right hippocampal excision impairs learning and recall of a list of abstract designs.
The role of the temporal lobes and the hippocampus in learning a list of abstract designs was investigated. Variables studied included trials to criterion, 24-hr delayed recall and serial-position effects. Normal control subjects and four groups of patients, classified according to side of temporal lobectomy and extent of excision from the hippocampal zone, were tested. Patients with a right temporal lobectomy that included a large hippocampal excision showed deficient learning and memory, and, on the serial-position analysis, they recalled essentially none of the first items of the list. The other patient groups were unimpaired, except in the number of trials required to reach criterion.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery