title: Effects of extreme tonotopic mismatches between bilateral cochlear implants on electric pitch perception: a case study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent studies suggest that pitch perceived through cochlear implants (CIs) changes with experience to minimize spectral mismatches between electric and acoustic hearing. This study aimed to test whether perceived spectral mismatches are similarly minimized between two electric inputs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pitch perception was studied in a subject with a 10-mm CI in one ear and a 24-mm CI in the other ear. Both processors were programmed to allocate information from the same frequency range of 188-7938 Hz, despite the large differences in putative insertion depth and stimulated cochlear locations between the CIs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 2 and 3 years of experience, pitch-matched electrode pairs between CIs were aligned closer to the processor-provided frequencies than to cochlear position.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pitch perception may have adapted to reduce perceived spectral discrepancies between bilateral CI inputs, despite 2-3 octave differences in tonotopic mapping.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Iowa, USA. reiss@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: Lina A J
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Reiss
authors.forename: Mary W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lowder
authors.forename: Sue A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Karsten
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Bruce J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Gantz
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*