Verbal memory in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: Beyond material specificity

Abstract

The idea that verbal and non-verbal forms of memory are segregated in their entirety, and localized to the left and right hippocampi, is arguably the most influential concept in the neuropsychology of temporal lobe epilepsy, forming a cornerstone of pre-surgical decision making, and a frame for interpreting postoperative outcome. This critical review begins by examining some of the unexpressed but inescapable assumptions of the material-specificity model: (i) verbal and non-verbal memory are unitary and internally homogenous constructs; and (ii) left and right memory systems are assumed to be independent, self-contained modules. The next section traces the origins of an alternative view, ema..