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Identifying emotions in music through electrical hearing in deaf children using cochlear implants
T Hopyan1, K A Gordon, B C Papsin
1Department of Otolaryngology, Cochlear Implant Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. t.hopyan@utoronto.ca
Cochlear Implants International
|July 16, 2011
Summary
Children with cochlear implants (CI) can identify emotions in music, but less accurately than hearing peers. This study explored music emotion recognition in pediatric CI users.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Cochlear implants (CI) enable deaf children to perceive sound via electrical auditory nerve stimulation.
- Music conveys emotion and is crucial for social-emotional development.
- The ability of pediatric CI users to discern emotion in music is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether children deaf from infancy, using CIs, can identify emotional content in music.
- To compare music emotion recognition in pediatric CI users versus typically hearing children.
Main Methods:
- 18 pediatric CI users (ages 7-13) and 18 age/gender-matched controls participated.
- Participants identified musical excerpts as 'happy' or 'sad' using facial graphics.
- No correlation was found between age/time of CI activation and performance.
Main Results:
- CI users could distinguish happy from sad music above chance levels.
- Pediatric CI users performed less accurately than typically hearing peers.
- Performance was not linked to age at CI activation or duration of CI use.
Conclusions:
- Children with CIs demonstrate the capacity to perceive emotion in music.
- Accuracy in music emotion recognition is lower in pediatric CI users compared to controls.
- CI use offers potential for auditory-emotional development, though further research is needed.
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