The parahippocampal region and object identification

The hippocampus has long been thought to be critical for memory, including memory for objects. However, recent neuropsychological studies in nonhuman primates have indicated that other regions within the medial temporal lobe, specifically, structures in the parahippocampal region, are primarily responsible for object recognition and object identification. This article reviews the behavioral effects of removal of structures within the parahippocampal region in monkeys, and cites relevant work in rodents as well. It is argued that the perirhinal cortex, in particular, contributes to object identification in at least two ways: (i) by serving as the final stage in the ventral visual cortical pathway that represents stimulus features, and (ii) by operating as part of a network for associating together sensory inputs within and across sensory modalities.