Assessing the Electrode-Neuron Interface with the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential, Electrode Position, and Behavioral Thresholds

Lindsay DeVries; Rachel Scheperle; Julie Arenberg Bierer

doi:10.1007/s10162-016-0557-9

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Assessing the Electrode-Neuron Interface with the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential, Electrode Position, and Behavioral Thresholds

Journal article

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Assessing the Electrode-Neuron Interface with the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential, Electrode Position, and Behavioral Thresholds

Lindsay DeVries, Rachel Scheperle and Julie Arenberg Bierer

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Vol.17(3), pp.237-252

06/01/2016

DOI: 10.1007/s10162-016-0557-9

PMID: 26926152

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Abstract

Variability in speech perception scores among cochlear implant listeners may largely reflect the variable efficacy of implant electrodes to convey stimulus information to the auditory nerve. In the present study, three metrics were applied to assess the quality of the electrode-neuron interface of individual cochlear implant channels: the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP), the estimation of electrode position using computerized tomography (CT), and behavioral thresholds using focused stimulation. The primary motivation of this approach is to evaluate the ECAP as a site-specific measure of the electrode-neuron interface in the context of two peripheral factors that likely contribute to degraded perception: large electrode-to-modiolus distance and reduced neural density. Ten unilaterally implanted adults with Advanced Bionics HiRes90k devices participated. ECAPs were elicited with monopolar stimulation within a forward-masking paradigm to construct channel interaction functions (CIF), behavioral thresholds were obtained with quadrupolar (sQP) stimulation, and data from imaging provided estimates of electrode-to-modiolus distance and scalar location (scala tympani (ST), intermediate, or scala vestibuli (SV)) for each electrode. The width of the ECAP CIF was positively correlated with electrode-to-modiolus distance; both of these measures were also influenced by scalar position. The ECAP peak amplitude was negatively correlated with behavioral thresholds. Moreover, subjects with low behavioral thresholds and large ECAP amplitudes, averaged across electrodes, tended to have higher speech perception scores. These results suggest a potential clinical role for the ECAP in the objective assessment of individual cochlear implant channels, with the potential to improve speech perception outcomes.

Action Potentials

Adult

Aged

Aged, 80 and over

Auditory Threshold - physiology

Cochlear Implants

Electrodes, Implanted

Humans

Middle Aged

Neurons

Speech Perception

Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Details

Title: Subtitle: Assessing the Electrode-Neuron Interface with the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential, Electrode Position, and Behavioral Thresholds
Creators: Lindsay DeVries - University of Washington
Rachel Scheperle - University of Iowa
Julie Arenberg Bierer - University of Washington
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Vol.17(3), pp.237-252
DOI: 10.1007/s10162-016-0557-9
PMID: 26926152
NLM abbreviation: J Assoc Res Otolaryngol
ISSN: 1525-3961
eISSN: 1438-7573
Grant note: P30 DC004661 / NIDCD NIH HHS T32 DC000033 / NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC012142 / NIDCD NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 06/01/2016
Academic Unit: Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9985219853102771

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