Behavioral frequency discrimination ability of partially deafened cats using cochlear implants
| dc.contributor.author | Benovitski, Yuri | |
| dc.contributor.author | Blamey, Peter | |
| dc.contributor.author | Rathbone, Graeme | |
| dc.contributor.author | Fallon, James | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-09-08T05:09:12Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-09-08T05:09:12Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-09 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this study was to determine the effects of cochlear implant (CI) use on behavioral frequency discrimination ability in partially deafened cats. We hypothesized that the additional information provided by the CI would allow subjects to perform better on a frequency discrimination task. Four cats with a high frequency hearing loss induced by ototoxic drugs were first trained on a go/no-go, positive reinforcement, frequency discrimination task and reached asymptotic performance (measured by d' - detection theory). Reference frequencies (1, 4, and 7 kHz) were systematically rotated (Block design) every 9-11 days to cover the hearing range of the cats while avoiding bias arising from the order of testing. Animals were then implanted with an intracochlear electrode array connected to a CI and speech processor. They then underwent 6 months of continuous performance measurement with the CI turned on, except for one month when the stimulator was turned off. Overall, subjects performed the frequency discrimination task significantly better with their CI turned on than in the CI-off condition (3-way ANOVA, p < 0.001). The analysis showed no dependence on subject (3-way ANOVA, subject × on-off condition, p > 0.5); however, the CI only significantly improved performance for two (1 and 7 kHz) of the three reference frequencies. In this study we were able to show, for the first time, that cats can utilize information provided by a CI in performing a behavioral frequency discrimination task. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This workwas funded by the National Institutes of Health (HHSN- 263-2007-00053-C), the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (GNT1002430) and The Department of Electronic Engineering, La-Trobe University. The Bionics Institute acknowledges the support it receives from the Victorian Government through its Operational Infrastructure Support Program. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Benovitski, Y. B., P. J. Blamey, G. D. Rathbone and J. B. Fallon (2014). Behavioral frequency discrimination ability of partially deafened cats using cochlear implants. Hearing Research 315: 61-66. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://repository.bionicsinstitute.org:8080/handle/123456789/129 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Elsevier | en_US |
| dc.subject | Partial hearing loss | en_US |
| dc.subject | cochlear implant | en_US |
| dc.subject | behavioral frequency discrimination | en_US |
| dc.title | Behavioral frequency discrimination ability of partially deafened cats using cochlear implants | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |