Selective sparing of topographical memory
- Dr Lisa Cipolotti, Department of Psychology, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Telephone 0044 171 8373611; fax 0044 171 8132516; email l.cipolotti{at}ion.ucl.ac.uk
- Received 18 March 1998
- Revised 11 June 1998
- Accepted 19 June 1998
Abstract
The case of a 61 year old patient with Pick’s disease involving predominantly the left temporal lobe, who has been studied over a 5 year period, is reported. She presented with a grave impairment of both verbal and non-verbal memory functions. Her non-verbal memory deficits included profound impairments on the recognition of unfamiliar faces and the recall of abstract designs. Remarkably, her visual recognition memory performance for unknown buildings, landscapes, and outdoor scenes was preserved. Strikingly, her ability to recall familiar routes and learn new ones through a complex virtual reality town was also entirely normal. This seems to be the first case documenting the selective preservation of topographical memory in the context of severe non-verbal and verbal memory impairments. These findings imply that topographical memory and non-verbal memory are subserved by separable neural systems.
