Visual and Auditory Verbal Memory in Older Adults: Comparing Postlingually Deaf Cochlear Implant Users to...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Audiology

Background:

• Verbal memory strategy use can differ based on sensory modality.
• Understanding memory differences in older adults with cochlear implants (OCIs) is crucial for auditory rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if older postlingually deafened cochlear implant users (OCIs) employ similar verbal memory strategies as older normal-hearing adults (ONHs).
• To assess verbal memory functioning separately in visual and auditory modalities to mitigate modality-specific biases.

Main Methods:

• Participants (n=27, age >60) completed visual and auditory verbal memory tasks involving vocal production (saying aloud) versus no production (silent reading/listening).
• Free recall was tested after word presentation.
• Cognitive abilities and cochlear implant users' speech perception were assessed.

Main Results:

• Both ONHs and OCIs demonstrated a production benefit (improved recall with vocalization) across visual and auditory tasks.
• ONHs showed comparable production benefits in both modalities.
• OCIs exhibited a diminished production effect in the auditory modality compared to ONHs.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest modality-specific memory strategy differences between ONHs and OCIs.
• Reduced auditory stimulation in OCIs may lead to poorer phonological representations, impacting auditory long-term verbal memory efficiency.