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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
Published on: October 24, 2012
Contingent capture of involuntary visual spatial attention does not differ between normally hearing children and
Marc R Kamke1, Jeanette Van Luyn2, Gabriella Constantinescu3
1Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Purpose:
Evidence suggests that deafness-induced changes in visual perception, cognition and attention may compensate for a hearing loss. Such alterations, however, may also negatively influence adaptation to a cochlear implant. This study investigated whether involuntary attentional capture by salient visual stimuli is altered in children who use a cochlear implant.
Methods:
Thirteen experienced implant users (aged 8-16 years) and age-matched normally hearing children were presented with a rapid sequence of simultaneous visual and auditory events. Participants were tasked with detecting numbers presented in a specified color and identifying a change in the tonal frequency whilst ignoring irrelevant visual distractors.
Results:
Compared to visual distractors that did not possess the target-defining characteristic, target-colored distractors were associated with a decrement in visual performance (response time and accuracy), demonstrating a contingent capture of involuntary attention. Visual distractors did not, however, impair auditory task performance. Importantly, detection performance for the visual and auditory targets did not differ between the groups.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that proficient cochlear implant users demonstrate normal capture of visuospatial attention by stimuli that match top-down control settings.
