Neurophysiological evidence of impaired musical sound perception in cochlear-implant users.
OBJECTIVE
Music perception with a cochlear implant (CI) can be unsatisfactory because current-day implants are primarily designed to enable speech discrimination. The present study aimed at evaluating electrophysiological correlates of musical sound perception in CI users to help achieve the long-term goal of improved restoration of hearing in those individuals.


METHODS
Auditory discrimination accuracy in adult CI users (n=12) and matched normal-hearing controls (n=12) was measured by behavioral discrimination tasks and mismatch negativity (MMN) recordings. Discrimination profiles were obtained by using a set of clarinet sounds (original/vocoded) varying along different acoustic dimensions (frequency/intensity/duration) and deviation magnitudes (four levels).


RESULTS
Behavioral results and MMN recordings revealed reduced auditory discrimination accuracy in CI users. An inverse relationship was found between MMN amplitudes and duration of profound deafness.


CONCLUSIONS
CI users have difficulties in discriminating small changes in the acoustic properties of musical sounds. The recently developed multi-feature MMN paradigm (Pakarinen et al., 2007) can be used to objectively evaluate discrimination abilities of CI users for musical sounds.


CONCLUSIONS
Measuring auditory discrimination functions by means of a multi-feature MMN paradigm could be of substantial clinical value by providing a comprehensive profile of the extent of restored hearing in CI users.
Sandmann
Pascale
P
Division of Neuropsychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland. pascale.sandmann@uni-oldenburg.de,
Kegel
Andrea
A
Eichele
Tom
T
Dillier
Norbert
N
Lai
Waikong
W
Bendixen
Alexandra
A
Debener
Stefan
S
Jancke
Lutz
L
Meyer
Martin
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013016:Sound; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic