Special Session: Cochlear Implantation and NeurodevelopmentUnderstanding Memory and Learning Challenges in Children with Hearing and Balance Impairments Our research aims to support development of children using cochlear implants (CIs). Yet, outcomes continue to show variability and many children with CIs show deficits in language, academics, and memory. Working memory impairments occur even for visual-spatial tasks which seems surprising given the potential for cross-modal plasticity in these children. We are exploring the hypotheses that memory and learning in children using CIs are impaired by increased cognitive load and, further, that these challenges are due, in part, to spatial perception deficits from poor spatial hearing and poor balance. Data from related studies conducted at Archie’s Cochlear Implant Laboratory, examining cortical plasticity, behavioral responses to sound, and developmental outcomes in children using CIs will be discussed.
Karen Gordon, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and a Graduate Faculty Member in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. She works at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a Senior Scientist in the Research Institute and an Audiologist in the Department of Communication Disorders. She is Director of Research in Archie’s Cochlear Implant Laboratory and holds the Bastable-Potts Health Clinician Scientist Award in Hearing Impairment and Cochlear Americas Chair of Auditory Development. Karen’s collaborative research focuses on auditory development in children who are deaf and use auditory prostheses including cochlear implants. Her work is supported by research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the American National Institute of Health along with the Cochlear Americas Chair in Auditory Development and generous donations.
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