Inferior temporal lesions do not impair discrimination of rotated patterns in monkeys.

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Abstract
Ablation of inferior temporal cortex in the rhesus monkey [Macaca mulatta and M. fascicularis] produces a visual discrimination learning deficit. The severity of this deficit has often been found to be a function of task difficulty. A type of visual discrimination problem that, although difficult, is not sensitive to inferior temporal lesions is discussed. Monkeys with anterior, posterior and complete inferior temporal lesions were repeatedly unimpaired or only slightly impaired in learning to discriminate a pattern from the same pattern rotated 90.degree. or 180.degree. and were very severely impaired in learning equally or more difficult discriminations of 2 different patterns. This demonstration that discrimination of orientation of patterns is relatively spared after inferior temporal lesions helps specify the pattern-recognition processes that require inferior temporal cortex.