THE EFFECTS OF FRONTAL-LOBE OR TEMPORAL-LOBE LESIONS - ON SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INTERFERENCE IN SPATIAL MEMORY

Patients with unilateral frontal- or temporal-lobe lesions and normal control subjects studied multiple arrays of pictures and were tested f or recall of the locations of the pictures. One condition consisted of three trials of the same pictures in different spatial arrangements, recall being tested immediately after each presentation. In a second c ondition (using different stimuli), the subject was given two trials w ith one set of pictures, but a new set of pictures was viewed on the t hird trial. All groups showed a build-up of proactive interference acr oss trials using the same pictures, and a release of proactive interfe rence when they studied new pictures. Patients with frontal-lobe lesio ns were more susceptible to proactive interference than were the other groups.