title: Auditory and audio-visual processing in patients with cochlear, auditory brainstem, and auditory midbrain implants: An EEG study.
abstract: There is substantial variability in speech recognition ability across patients with cochlear implants (CIs), auditory brainstem implants (ABIs), and auditory midbrain implants (AMIs). To better understand how this variability is related to central processing differences, the current electroencephalography (EEG) study compared hearing abilities and auditory-cortex activation in patients with electrical stimulation at different sites of the auditory pathway. Three different groups of patients with auditory implants (Hannover Medical School; ABI: n = 6, CI: n = 6; AMI: n = 2) performed a speeded response task and a speech recognition test with auditory, visual, and audio-visual stimuli. Behavioral performance and cortical processing of auditory and audio-visual stimuli were compared between groups. ABI and AMI patients showed prolonged response times on auditory and audio-visual stimuli compared with NH listeners and CI patients. This was confirmed by prolonged N1 latencies and reduced N1 amplitudes in ABI and AMI patients. However, patients with central auditory implants showed a remarkable gain in performance when visual and auditory input was combined, in both speech and non-speech conditions, which was reflected by a strong visual modulation of auditory-cortex activation in these individuals. In sum, the results suggest that the behavioral improvement for audio-visual conditions in central auditory implant patients is based on enhanced audio-visual interactions in the auditory cortex. Their findings may provide important implications for the optimization of electrical stimulation and rehabilitation strategies in patients with central auditory prostheses. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2206-2225, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.|Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3434-9097
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schierholz
authors.affiliation: Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Mareike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Finke
authors.affiliation: Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.|Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.|School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kral
authors.affiliation: Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Büchner
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiological Methods and Etiological Research, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rach
authors.affiliation: Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lenarz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.|Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dengler
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.|Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all,", Hannover, Germany.|Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sandmann
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015834:Cochlear Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D046709:Pattern Recognition, Physiological; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology
keywords: audio-visual interactions; auditory brainstem implant; auditory cortex; auditory midbrain implant; auditory rehabilitation; cochlear implant; event-related potentials