Abstract

There can be wide variation in the level of oral/aural languageability that prelingually hearing-impaired childrendevelop after cochlear implantation. Automatic perceptualprocessing mechanisms have come under increasing scrutinyin attempts to explain this variation. Using mismatchnegativity methods, this study explored associations betweenauditory sensory memory mechanisms and verbalworking memory function in children with cochlear implantsand a group of hearing controls of similar age. Whilst clearrelationships were observed in the hearing children betweenmismatch activation and working memory measures,this association appeared to be disrupted in the implant children.These findings would fit with the proposal that earlyauditory deprivation and a degraded auditory signal cancause changes in the processes underpinning the developThere can be wide variation in the level of oral/aural languageability that prelingually hearing-impaired childrendevelop after cochlear implantation. Automatic perceptualprocessing mechanisms have come under increasing scrutinyin attempts to explain this variation. Using mismatchnegativity methods, this study explored associations betweenauditory sensory memory mechanisms and verbalworking memory function in children with cochlear implantsand a group of hearing controls of similar age. Whilst clearrelationships were observed in the hearing children betweenmismatch activation and working memory measures,this association appeared to be disrupted in the implant children.These findings would fit with the proposal that earlyauditory deprivation and a degraded auditory signal cancause changes in the processes underpinning the developThere can be wide variation in the level of oral/aural languageability that prelingually hearing-impaired childrendevelop after cochlear implantation. Automatic perceptualprocessing mechanisms have come under increasing scrutinyin attempts to explain this variation. Using mismatchnegativity methods, this study explored associations betweenauditory sensory memory mechanisms and verbalworking memory function in children with cochlear implantsand a group of hearing controls of similar age. Whilst clearrelationships were observed in the hearing children betweenmismatch activation and working memory measures,this association appeared to be disrupted in the implant children.These findings would fit with the proposal that earlyauditory deprivation and a degraded auditory signal cancause changes in the processes underpinning the development of oral/aural language skills in prelingually hearing-impairedchildren with cochlear implants and thus alter theirdevelopmental trajectory.