Using Psychophysical Methods to Understand and Improve Speech Recognition in Cochlear Implant Users

这项研究的长期目标是使用心理物理学的方法来更好地理解听觉 系统通过人工耳蜗(CI)对电刺激做出反应，以及我们如何利用这一知识来 使用该设备改善语音识别结果。提案中有三个目标；每个目标都有自己的目标 临床意义或应用。它们共同回答了一个广泛的问题，即为什么研究努力 过去使用配置项改善结果没有产生明显或持续的好处，以及 可能的解决方案是。在目标1中，中心假设是时间和时间之间存在权衡关系 退化听觉系统中神经兴奋的处理和空间分辨率。这一假说将 解释为什么旨在提高空间分辨率的聚焦电极配置不能提供一致的 利益。其想法是，谱域中的改进将损害时间域中的处理。 提出了在受试者和通道中应用聚焦刺激的问题的解决方案 特定的方式，这样应该避免对给定的患者或给定位置的刺激 电极阵列。在目标2中，研究了一个特殊的CI患者群体，即先天耳聋的无NO患者。 或以前几乎没有声学听力经验。这些受试者可能患有严重的神经退行性变 这是新生儿听力丧失的结果。如果及早植入，广泛和扭曲的CI刺激可能会推动 天真的听觉系统以不受欢迎的方式成熟。这些影响的心理物理证据将是 为这一群体提出了可供选择的刺激策略并进行了测试。在AIM 3，站点- 将对过去使用并产生高度可变结果的选择策略进行评估 在相同的受试者样本中。选址策略停用不太“理想”的电极，基于 各种标准。比较同一对象样本中的选择措施解决了以下问题 他们是否评估刺激部位的相似属性，如果不是，哪种衡量标准(S)可能会评估 电刺激中语音识别的重要因素。目标3还评估了使用 心理物理测试作为一种潜在的听觉训练方法。心理物理测试提供了几种 比音乐训练或语言刺激本身的训练更有优势。拟议中的实验， 对cis存在的问题提供解释和解决方案，具有直接和直接的临床意义。 这意味着什么。

The long-term goal of the research is using a psychophysical approach to better understand how the auditory system responds to electrical stimulation via a cochlear implant (CI) and how we might use this knowledge to improve speech recognition outcomes with the device. There are three aims in the proposal; each has its clinical implications or applications. Together, they answer the broad question of why research efforts made to improve outcomes with CIs in the past have not produced appreciable or consistent benefits and what the possible solutions are. In aim 1, the central hypothesis is that there is a tradeoff relationship between temporal processing and spatial resolution of neural excitation, in a degenerated auditory system. The hypothesis will explain why focused electrode configuration aiming to improve spatial resolution has not provided consistent benefit. The idea is that the improvement in the spectral domain will impair processing in the temporal domain. Solution to the problem is proposed where focused stimulation should be applied in a subject- and channel- specific manner, such that focused stimulation should be avoided for given patients or given locations on the electrode array. In aim 2, a special CI patient population is studied, i.e., congenitally deafened subjects with no or little prior experience with acoustic hearing. These subjects may suffer from severe neural degeneration as a result of neonatal auditory deprivation. If implanted early, the broad and distorted CI stimulation may drive the naïve auditory system to mature in undesirable ways. Psychophysical evidences for these effects will be provided and alternative stimulation strategies are proposed and tested for this population. In aim 3, site- selection strategies that have been used in the past and produced highly variable outcomes, will be evaluated in the same subject sample. Site-selection strategies deactivate electrodes that are less “optimal”, based on various criteria. Comparing the selection measures in the same subject sample addresses the question of whether they assess similar attributes of the stimulation sites, and if not, which measure(s) might assess the important factor for speech recognition in electrical stimulation. Aim 3 also evaluates the efficacy of using psychophysical testing as a potential auditory training method. Psychophysical testing offers several advantages over musical training or training with the speech stimulus itself. The proposed experiments, offering explanations and solutions for the existing problems with CIs, have direct and immediate clinical implications.