Short-term memory for colour following posterior hemispheric lesions in man

SHORT-TERM memory for colour was studied in five patients with circumscribe d posterior hemispheric lesions. It was impaired independently of colour di scrimination in one and more than colour discrimination in two patients. Tw o patients were normal in colour short-term memory, one with normal and one with deficient colour discrimination performance. Deficient performance in colour short-term memory was associated with bilateral lesions of the infe rior occipitotemporal junction including the lateral part of the fusiform g yrus or with a unilateral lesion of the left parieto-occipital convexity. A n additional colour constancy deficit was found in the former but not the l atter condition. Thus, colour short-term memory can be affected independent ly of colour discrimination or colour constancy, and may depend on at least two distinct neural circuits. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.