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Individual differences in brain networks supporting speech understanding in patients with cochlear implants

Award Number: R01DC019507
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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Individual differences in brain networks supporting speech understanding in patients with cochlear implants - Abstract Listeners with hearing impairment can often understand spoken language, but with increased effort, taking cognitive resources away from other processes such as attention and memory. An important challenge is therefore to understand how the brain copes with a degraded speech signal and the cognitive processes that are most critical to successful comprehension. Adult listeners with cochlear implants are a unique group in which to investigate effortful listening: They have typically adapted to auditory deprivation for a period of years of profound hearing loss, followed by some degree of hearing restoration following implantation. Following increased auditory input due to cochlear implantation, the degree to which individual listeners are able to successfully recognize speech, especially in the presence of background noise, is extremely variable. Previous attempts to explain this variability in the context of underlying patterns of brain activity have been unsuccessful, in large part because the technical challenges associated with neuroimaging in the presence of an implanted medical device have prevented adequate localization of neural responses to speech. The goal of our research is to understand the cognitive systems that support speech recognition in listeners with cochlear implants and to use knowledge about these systems to improve behavioral outcomes. We do so using converging evidence from behavioral measures and functional brain imaging. We make use of high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT), a form of optical brain imaging that produces anatomically-localized indices of regional cortical activity. We will map the brain networks supporting speech comprehension in listeners with cochlear implants, which we expect to differ from those engaged by listeners with good hearing. We will then evaluate the degree to which neural markers of effortful listening can predict individual differences in speech recognition success in the presence of background noise. Together the findings will help ground our understanding of cochlear implant-aided speech recognition in a neuroanatomically-constrained framework and develop more accurate outcome measures.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $345,358 )
2025	2025	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	4	11/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$345,358
														Subtotal = $345,358

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $380,734 )
2024	2024	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	3	5/7/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$38,072
2024	2024	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	11/28/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$342,662
														Subtotal = $380,734

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $350,704 )
2023	2023	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	003	2	7/11/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$282,218
2023	2023	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	2	12/27/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$350,704
2023	2022	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE	ONE BROOKINGS DR	SAINT LOUIS	MO	63110	SAINT LOUIS CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	002	1	7/11/2023	NEW	-$282,218
2023	2022	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE	ONE BROOKINGS DR	SAINT LOUIS	MO	63130	SAINT LOUIS	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	12/27/2022	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $350,704

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $587,705 )
2022	2022	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE	ONE BROOKINGS DR	SAINT LOUIS	MO	63130	SAINT LOUIS	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	12/3/2021	NEW	$587,705
														Subtotal = $587,705

Grand Total All Awards = $1,664,501

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Individual differences in brain networks supporting speech understanding in patients with cochlear implants

Award Number: R01DC019507

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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