How spatial cues support communication: Interactions between auditory spatial features and task demands across cortical networks

PROJECT ABSTRACT Improving speech understanding in the presence of background noise by individuals fitted with cochlear implants is an enormous challenge. Although audibility can sometimes be a limiting factor for benefit, more frequently it is because the cues that are often responsible for sound source segregation by individuals with normal hearing, are limited or unavailable. This proposal will alter binaural cues, in the form of magnified ILDs, and use behavioral and neuroimaging techniques to establish both the extent and the mechanisms of benefit.