In the absence of multiple scattering the lateral correlation function of the reflected wavefield can be related to the lateral correlation function of the medium. We have analyzed the lateral correlation function of a series synthetic seismograms from stochastic models of reflective lower crust with the structural and petrophysical statistics of the Ivrea Zone. Our results show that in the presence of Ivrea-type lower crustal heterogeneity the lateral correlation function of the backscattered wavefield is insensitive to the lateral correlation function of the scattering medium, which suggests that multiple scattering is important in the reflective lower crust. This interpretation is consistent with lower crustal reflections commonly being shorter than a Fresnel zone, the absence of clear diffractions and the poor performance of standard migration algorithms on deep sismic reflection data. ¿American Geophysical Union 1993