Examining the right temporal lobe's role in nonverbal memory.
Tests of facial recognition and spatial learning were administered to presurgical patients with unilateral temporal lobe EEG foci. Right temporal lobe patients obtained lower facial recognition scores than left temporal lobe patients. The groups performed equally on the spatial learning test. A factor analysis revealed two independent factors: a general visuospatial factor and a more specific facial identification factor. The findings provide support for the existence of two dissociable visual processing systems. Memory impairments associated with right temporal lobe dysfunction may be characterized as an impairment in a ventral visual processing system responsible for facial memory and pattern recognition.
Barr
W B
WB
Department of Neurology, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New Hyde Park, New York, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013028:Space Perception; D014888:Wechsler Scales