A role for the medial temporal lobes in category learning

Despite much research, the role of the medial temporal lobes (MTL) in category learning is unclear. Two unstructured categorization experiments explored conditions that might recruit MTL category learning and memory systems—namely, whether the stimulus display includes one or two stimuli, and whether category membership depends on configural properties of the stimulus features. The results supported three conclusions. First, in agreement with prior research, learning with single stimulus displays depended on striatal-mediated procedural learning. Second, and most important, learning with pair displays was mediated by MTL declarative memory systems. Third, the use of stimuli in which category membership depends on configural properties of the stimulus features made MTL learning slightly more likely. Overall, the results suggested that the MTL are most likely to mediate learning when the participant must decide which of two configural stimuli belongs to a selected category.