Neuroelectrical imaging study of music perception by children with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants.

Objective: To investigate by means of non-invasive neuroelectrical imaging the differences in the perceived pleasantness of music between children with cochlear implants (CI) and normal-hearing (NH) children.

Methods: 5 NH children and 5 children who received a sequential bilateral CI were assessed by means of High-Resolution EEG with Source Reconstruction as they watched a musical cartoon. Implanted children were tested before and after the second implant. For each subject the scalp Power Spectral Density was calculated in order to investigate the EEG alpha asymmetry.

Results: The scalp topographic distribution of the EEG power spectrum in the alpha band was different in children using one CI as compared to NH children (see figure). With two CIs the cortical activation pattern changed significantly, becoming more similar to the one observed in NH children.

Conclusions: The findings support the hypothesis that bilateral CI users have a closer-to-normal perception of the pleasantness of music than unilaterally implanted children.