A word-generation experiment explored the relative contributions of the left temporal neocortex and the left hippocampal region to verbal recall. Patients with large hippocampal excisions (LTH) were impaired in immediate recall of synonyms, whereas those with small hippocampal excisions (LTh) were not. Both groups were impaired in immediate recall of rhymes, and in delayed recall of both synonyms and rhymes. A nonverbal associative-learning task, where the stimulus-items came from a visual continuum, also resulted in a deficit for the LTH (but not the LTh) group. Patients with right temporal lobectomy performed both tasks normally. On an absolute-judgement task involving the accurate numbering of a set of six individually-presented rectangles, only the groups of patients with large hippocampal excisions were impaired, regardless of side of lesion. These findings support the view that the temporal neocortex is important for gaining access to information in semantic memory, whereas the hippocampal region is essential for the temporary storage of new information beyond the span of immediate memory.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68620 |
| Date | January 1981 |
| Creators | Read, Donald E., 1942- |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000137184, proquestno: AAINK54894, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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