Neural correlates of visual stimulus encoding and verbal working memory differ between cochlear implant users and normal-hearing controls

A common concern for individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss fitted with cochlear implants (CIs) is difficulty following conversations in noisy environments. Recent work has suggested that these difficulties are related to individual differences in brain function, including verbal working memory and the degree of cross-modal reorganization of auditory areas for visual processing. However, the neural basis for these relationships is not fully understood. Here, we investigated neural correlates of visual verbal working memory and sensory plasticity in 14 CI users and age-matched normal-hearing (NH) controls. While we recorded the high-density electroencephalogram (EEG), participants completed a modified Sternberg visual working memory task where sets of letters and numbers were presented visually and then recalled at a later time. Results suggested that CI users had comparable behavioural working memory performance compared with NH. However, CI users had more pronounced neural activity during visual stimulus encoding, including stronger visual-evoked activity in auditory and visual cortices, larger modulations of neural oscillations and increased frontotemporal connectivity. In contrast, during memory retention of the characters, CI users had descriptively weaker neural oscillations and significantly lower frontotemporal connectivity. We interpret the differences in neural correlates of visual stimulus processing in CI users through the lens of cross-modal and intramodal plasticity.

Automated summary

Individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss fitted with cochlear implants may face challenges following conversations in noisy environments, attributed to differences in brain function. This study compared neural correlates of visual verbal working memory and sensory plasticity in CI users and age-matched NH controls. Results suggested that CI users exhibited stronger visual-evoked activity in auditory and visual cortices during visual stimulus encoding, but weaker neural oscillations and lower frontotemporal connectivity during memory retention, potentially indicating differences in cross-modal and intramodal plasticity.