Grant: Project Grant

With this research program, we aim at understanding why cochlear implant (CI) is more efficient for some deaf individuals (DI). More specifically, we want to identify deafness induced brain changes that could impact sensory performances following auditory rehabilitation with CI. Indeed, previous research has established that deafness leads to brain changes at the structural (e.g. area volume) and functional (e.g. area response) levels. For example, in DI, an area typically dedicated to the processing of sounds might process visual information instead. The impact these changes have on rehabilitation is yet to be fully understood. The CI is the most effective method to re-establish audition. However, auditory performance with a CI can, in some cases, remain fairly poor. Thus, we want to study the brain changes in DI and predict performances with a CI. This way, patients and professionals could be better equipped to make decisions regarding eligibility to this surgery. In past projects, we have demonstrated that changes in visual and auditory areas during deafness can lead to better performances in visual tasks but reduced ones in auditory tasks. Today, we want to examine if the changes in the auditory areas of DI will influence auditory performance with CI in general or for voice and/or word recognition in particular. To answer these questions, we will combine behavioral, electrophysiological and brain imaging tasks. This array of techniques will allow us to 1) determine whether the anatomical differences in DI influence future rehabilitation with a CI; 2) examine the structural and functional connections between brain sensory areas, and 3) evaluate behavioral performances linked to modified brain activity before and after CI implantation. We believe the proposed project will permit a better understanding of the brain changes underlying the sensory performance variability with a CI and could allow professionals to offer better adapted rehabilitation strategies.