Memory for designs: the hippocampal contribution.

The role of mesial temporal-lobe structures in the recall of designs was examined in two experiments. Normal control subjects and patients with right or left temporal lobectomy that included either a large or small excision from the hippocampal zone were tested. In Experiment 1, subjects copied a complex drawing that was presented piecemeal in an illogical order; in Experiment 2 they copied 18 individual designs. In both cases recall was tested 45 min later. Patients with right temporal lobectomy showed deficient recall in both experiments; in Experiment 1 only, patients with a large right hippocampal removal were also significantly impaired compared to those with a small removal.