Auditory Deprivation and Cognitive Development: A Study of Working Memory in children with Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implantation (CI) has become a standard habilitation option for children with severe hearing loss. Although the CI provides access to sound, the quality of the sound signals is significantly reduced compared to natural auditory signals. In addition, congenitally deaf children often go through a long period of hearing deprivation before CI. These facts have led to research into the cognitive processing of information and the associated construct of working memory.

Objectives: First, to examine and compare the verbal and non-verbal working memory storage and processing in a group of children with CI and a group of their hearing peers. Second, to examine within-group differences in verbal and nonverbal storage and processing.

Participants: The study involved 35 children with CI of primary school age (6 to 15.9 years) and 23 hearing children who were matched by age and gender.

Method: Verbal working memory storage and processing were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) - Number Memory Span. Non-verbal working memory storage and processing was tested using the neuropsychological test Corsi Block-Tapping Task.

Results: The results show a statistically significant difference in verbal storage and processing and no significant differences in nonverbal storage or processing between children with CI and their hearing peers. In addition, both verbal and non-verbal processing skills are significantly lower than storage skills for both children with CIs and hearing children. Both groups process non-verbal information significantly better than verbal information, with no significant differences in verbal versus non-verbal storage capacities.

Davidson, L. S., Geers, A. E., Hale, S., Sommers, M. M., Brenner, C., & Spehar, B. (2019). Effects of Early Auditory Deprivation on Working Memory and Reasoning Abilities in Verbal and Visuospatial Domains for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients. Ear and hearing, 40 (3), 517–528.

Geers, A. E., Pisoni, D. B., & Brenner, C. (2013). Complex working memory span in cochlear implanted and normal hearing teenagers

Nittrouer, S., Caldwell-Tarr, A., Low, K., Lowenstein, J. H. (2017) Verbal Working Memory in Children With Cochlear Implants. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 60. 3342–3364.