Distinct multisensory perceptual processes guide enhanced auditory recognition memory in older cochlear implant users

TY - JOUR

T1 - Distinct multisensory perceptual processes guide enhanced auditory recognition memory in older cochlear implant users

AU - Radecke, Jan-Ole

AU - Schierholz, Irina

AU - Kral, Andrej

AU - Lenarz, Thomas

AU - Murray, Micah M

AU - Sandmann, Pascale

N1 - Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - In naturalistic situations, sounds are often perceived in conjunction with matching visual impressions. For example, we see and hear the neighbor's dog barking in the garden. Still, there is a good chance that we recognize the neighbor's dog even when we only hear it barking, but do not see it behind the fence. Previous studies with normal-hearing (NH) listeners have shown that the audio-visual presentation of a perceptual object (like an animal) increases the probability to recognize this object later on, even if the repeated presentation of this object occurs in a purely auditory condition. In patients with a cochlear implant (CI), however, the electrical hearing of sounds is impoverished, and the ability to recognize perceptual objects in auditory conditions is significantly limited. It is currently not well understood whether CI users - as NH listeners - show a multisensory facilitation for auditory recognition. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) and a continuous recognition paradigm with auditory and audio-visual stimuli to test the prediction that CI users show a benefit from audio-visual perception. Indeed, the congruent audio-visual context resulted in an improved recognition ability of objects in an auditory-only condition, both in the NH listeners and the CI users. The ERPs revealed a group-specific pattern of voltage topographies and correlations between these ERP maps and the auditory recognition ability, indicating a different processing of congruent audio-visual stimuli in CI users when compared to NH listeners. Taken together, our results point to distinct cortical processing of naturalistic audio-visual objects in CI users and NH listeners, which however allows both groups to improve the recognition ability of these objects in a purely auditory context. Our findings are of relevance for future clinical research since audio-visual perception might also improve the auditory rehabilitation after cochlear implantation.

AB - In naturalistic situations, sounds are often perceived in conjunction with matching visual impressions. For example, we see and hear the neighbor's dog barking in the garden. Still, there is a good chance that we recognize the neighbor's dog even when we only hear it barking, but do not see it behind the fence. Previous studies with normal-hearing (NH) listeners have shown that the audio-visual presentation of a perceptual object (like an animal) increases the probability to recognize this object later on, even if the repeated presentation of this object occurs in a purely auditory condition. In patients with a cochlear implant (CI), however, the electrical hearing of sounds is impoverished, and the ability to recognize perceptual objects in auditory conditions is significantly limited. It is currently not well understood whether CI users - as NH listeners - show a multisensory facilitation for auditory recognition. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) and a continuous recognition paradigm with auditory and audio-visual stimuli to test the prediction that CI users show a benefit from audio-visual perception. Indeed, the congruent audio-visual context resulted in an improved recognition ability of objects in an auditory-only condition, both in the NH listeners and the CI users. The ERPs revealed a group-specific pattern of voltage topographies and correlations between these ERP maps and the auditory recognition ability, indicating a different processing of congruent audio-visual stimuli in CI users when compared to NH listeners. Taken together, our results point to distinct cortical processing of naturalistic audio-visual objects in CI users and NH listeners, which however allows both groups to improve the recognition ability of these objects in a purely auditory context. Our findings are of relevance for future clinical research since audio-visual perception might also improve the auditory rehabilitation after cochlear implantation.

KW - Acoustic Stimulation

KW - Aged

KW - Auditory Perception

KW - Cochlear Implantation

KW - Cochlear Implants

KW - Evoked Potentials

KW - Humans

KW - Recognition, Psychology

KW - Speech Perception

KW - Visual Perception

U2 - 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102942

DO - 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102942

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 35033811

VL - 33

JO - NEUROIMAGE-CLIN

JF - NEUROIMAGE-CLIN

SN - 2213-1582

M1 - 102942

ER -