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Selective perceptual impairments after perirhinal cortex ablation.
M J Buckley1, M C Booth, E T Rolls
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3UD United Kingdom. buckley@psy.ox.ac.uk
Summary
The primate perirhinal cortex is not solely for memory; it also aids in object perception. Ablation studies in macaques show impaired object discrimination, supporting its role in perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Primate Studies
Background:
- The primate perirhinal cortex (PRC) has been traditionally associated exclusively with memory functions.
- Emerging research suggests a potential role for the PRC in object perception, challenging established views.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the contribution of the primate perirhinal cortex (PRC) to object perception.
- To determine if the PRC's function is limited to memory or extends to perceptual tasks.
Main Methods:
- Devised perceptual oddity tasks for macaque monkeys using touchscreen stimuli.
- Administered tasks involving discrimination of odd stimuli based on object identity, color, shape, size, faces, and scenes.
- Compared performance of macaques with bilateral perirhinal cortex ablations against control groups.
Main Results:
- Macaques with PRC ablations showed selective impairment in discriminating odd objects when simple feature differences were insufficient.
- Performance remained intact for discriminating odd stimuli based on color, shape, or size, even in difficult conditions.
- Impairments were observed in face and scene oddity tasks, indicating a broader perceptual role.
Conclusions:
- The notion of the primate perirhinal cortex (PRC) being exclusively involved in memory is rejected.
- The PRC demonstrably contributes to perception, particularly for stimuli requiring abstract processing, such as object identity.
- The PRC is specialized for processing abstract-level stimuli, supporting both memory and perception.