Visual recognition memory: a double anatomo-functional dissociation

There is an ongoing debate regarding the respective role of anterior subhippocampal structures and the hippocampus in recognition memory. Here, we report a double anatomo-functional dissociation observed in two brain-damaged patients, FRG and JMG. They both suffered from complete destruction of left MTL structures. In the right hemisphere however, FRG sustained extensive lesions to the hippocampus sparing anterior subhippocampal structures, while JMG suffered from the reversed pattern of lesion, i.e., extensive damage to anterior subhippocampal structures but preserved hippocampus. FRG was severely amnesic and failed all recall tasks involving visual material, but exhibited normal performance at a large battery of visual recognition memory tasks. JMG was not amnesic and showed the opposite pattern of performance. These results strongly support the view that right anterior subhippocampal structures are a critical relay for visual recognition memory in the human.