Gated word recognition in cochlear implant listeners: The role of spectral resolution and cognitive abilities

In a word gating task, listeners are presented with increasing amounts of word-onset information through progressively longer temporal “gates.” After each gate, they indicate what they believe the target word is. Listeners with normal hearing (NH) typically recognize a target word before hearing its entirety, while listeners with cochlear implants (CIs) require substantially more word-onset information—often nearly the entire word—to identify it accurately. This study investigated differences in sensory and neurocognitive functioning between high- and low-performing CI users on the gated word recognition task. Sensory perception was assessed using the Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT), a measure of auditory spectral resolution. Neurocognitive functioning was evaluated through the Abbreviated Reading Span Test for working memory and the Trail Making Task for executive function. Initial findings showed that differences in auditory spectral resolution, as measured by the SMRT, were the primary factor distinguishing high- and low-performing CI users. In contrast, non-verbal cognitive measures of working memory and executive function contributed minimally to performance differences. Additional analyses are ongoing, and the presentation will explore the relative contributions of auditory spectrotemporal resolution and cognitive factors to the challenges faced by CI users in gated word recognition tasks.