Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Cochlear Implant Surgery and Electrically-evoked Auditory Brainstem Response Recordings in C57BL/6 Mice
Published on: January 9, 2019
Cochlear implant users move in time to the beat of drum music
Jessica Phillips-Silver1, Petri Toiviainen2, Nathalie Gosselin3
1International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Pavillon 1420 boul. Mont Royal, University of Montreal, Case Postale 6128, Station Centre-Ville, Montreal Québec H3C 3J7, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
Abstract:
Cochlear implant users show a profile of residual, yet poorly understood, musical abilities. An ability that has received little to no attention in this population is entrainment to a musical beat. We show for the first time that a heterogeneous group of cochlear implant users is able to find the beat and move their bodies in time to Latin Merengue music, especially when the music is presented in unpitched drum tones. These findings not only reveal a hidden capacity for feeling musical rhythm through the body in the deaf and hearing impaired population, but illuminate promising avenues for designing early childhood musical training that can engage implanted children in social musical activities with benefits potentially extending to non-musical domains.
Related Concept Videos
The Cochlea
The Auditory Ossicles
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking...
Beats

