Audio-tactile integration in congenitally and late deaf cochlear implant users

PLoS One. 2014 Jun 11;9(6):e99606. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099606. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Several studies conducted in mammals and humans have shown that multisensory processing may be impaired following congenital sensory loss and in particular if no experience is achieved within specific early developmental time windows known as sensitive periods. In this study we investigated whether basic multisensory abilities are impaired in hearing-restored individuals with deafness acquired at different stages of development. To this aim, we tested congenitally and late deaf cochlear implant (CI) recipients, age-matched with two groups of hearing controls, on an audio-tactile redundancy paradigm, in which reaction times to unimodal and crossmodal redundant signals were measured. Our results showed that both congenitally and late deaf CI recipients were able to integrate audio-tactile stimuli, suggesting that congenital and acquired deafness does not prevent the development and recovery of basic multisensory processing. However, we found that congenitally deaf CI recipients had a lower multisensory gain compared to their matched controls, which may be explained by their faster responses to tactile stimuli. We discuss this finding in the context of reorganisation of the sensory systems following sensory loss and the possibility that these changes cannot be "rewired" through auditory reafferentation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cochlear Implants*
  • Deafness / congenital
  • Deafness / etiology
  • Deafness / physiopathology*
  • Deafness / surgery
  • Female
  • Hearing / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Persons With Hearing Impairments*
  • Reaction Time
  • Touch / physiology*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

The study was supported by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG 249425-CriticalBrainChanges) to BR. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.