# Multisensory Integration and Cortical Plasticity in Cochlear Implant Users

> **NIH NIH F30** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $31,904

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Hearing loss is a major cause of disability that affects over 48 million Americans. Cochlear implants (CIs) are
neuroprosthetic devices that allow people with profound hearing loss to recover hearing and speech
comprehension. However, CI surgery outcomes are highly variable and difficult to predict, which creates a
challenge for clinicians to guide patient decisions and expectations. Speech recognition is a multisensory
process. Although it is known that visual speech cues can improve auditory speech recognition, the visual and
audiovisual abilities of CI users have not been well characterized before and after cochlear implantation. In my
preliminary data, I show that pre-implantation visual and audiovisual speech recognition predicts post-
implantation auditory speech recognition, suggesting that multisensory integration may play an
underappreciated role in CI outcomes. In the proposed experiments, I will explore changes in visual and
audiovisual performance following CI surgery through a battery of sensory experiments (Aim 1). I will also
assess the neural correlates of any behavioral changes using an innovative approach by simultaneously
recording electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) responses over
time (Aim 2). Finally, I will identify pre-implantation factors that predict post-implantation speech recognition
and synthesize these data into a prediction model using machine learning (Aim 3). Through the experiments
proposed in this fellowship application, I will comprehensively characterize the longitudinal changes in sensory
perception and cortical organization following cochlear implantation. I will also use these findings to develop a
novel clinical tool for predicting CI outcomes. The proposed plan integrates my research interests in auditory
neuroscience with my clinical interests in otolaryngology, and it will set me up for success as a future
physician-scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10613020
- **Project number:** 1F30DC020917-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ansley Kunnath
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $31,904
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10613020

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10613020, Multisensory Integration and Cortical Plasticity in Cochlear Implant Users (1F30DC020917-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10613020. Licensed CC0.

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