Artikel
Auditory cortical activation in bilateral cochlear implant recipients
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Veröffentlicht: | 31. Mai 2005 |
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Gliederung
Text
This study aimed to investigate the patterns of cortical activation in bilateral cochlear implant users. Cortical activity resulting from auditory stimulation was measured using [18F]-FDG positron emission tomography. Five sequentially implanted male bilateral cochlear implant recipients were scanned. Each subject had 4 scans performed: control (both implants off); activation using the 1st implant (2nd implant off); activation using the 2nd implant (1st implant off) and activation using both implants together. Auditory cortical activations were consistently greater with stimulation via the first compared to the second implant. The second implants generated significantly greater visual cortical activation than the first implants did. There was no summation effect when both implants were in use. These results suggest that the first and second implants develop their own individual neural networks utilised for the processing of speech. Furthermore, we suggest that the visual activations demonstrated are of functional relevance. These findings demonstrate evidence of the variability of neural plasticity following cochlear implantation.