Editing Visual processing (section)

=== Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA) ===
The parahippocampal place area (PPA) is located in the posterior [[parahippocampal gyrus]], which itself is contained in the [[medial temporal lobe]] with close proximity to the [[hippocampus]]. Its name comes from the increased neural response in the PPA when viewing places, like buildings, houses, and other structures, and when viewing environmental scenes, both indoors and outdoors (Epstein & Kanwisher, 1998). This is not to say that the PPA does not show activation when presented with other visual stimuli – when presented with familiar objects that are neither buildings nor faces, like chairs, there is also some activation within the PPA (Ishai et al., 2000). It does however appear that the PPA is associated with visual processing of buildings and places, as patients who have experienced damage to the parahippocampal area demonstrate topographic disorientation, in other words, unable to navigate familiar and unfamiliar surroundings (Habib & Sirigu, 1987). Outside of visual processing, the parahippocampal gyrus is involved in both spatial memory and spatial navigation (Squire & Zola-Morgan, 1991).