Purpose: To explore the correlation between hearing and speech recovery levels after cochlear implantation and examined the preoperative microstructure of auditory pathways and speech centre using DTI.
Methods: (1) Fifty-two SNHL children between 0 and 6 years and 19 age and gender matched normal hearing subjects had received 3.0 T-MRI examination of the brain.FA, axial diffusion coefficient (λ‖), radial diffusion coefficient (λ⊥), and MD values in the lateral lemniscus, inferior colliculus, medial geniculate bodies, auditory radiations, Brodmann areas 41, 42, 22, 44, 45, and 39 were all measured bilaterally. (2) CAP and SIR scores were assessed in fourty-six cochlear implantation children at 6 months post-implant. Correlations among deaf children ages, FA value of bilateral inferior colliculus FA values, BA22, BA44, and postoperative CAP, and SIR scores were analyzed using multiple linear regression.
Results: The preoperative standard partial regression age coefficient of deaf children (|bi'| = 0.404) was slightly greater than that of the inferior colliculus (|bi'| = 0.377) FA value.
Conclusion: Preoperative children ages and inferior colliculus FA values were important factors influencing postoperative CAP score. Inferior colliculus FA value is a vital influencing factor in rehabilitation after cochlear implantation.
Keywords: Auditory neural pathway; Cochlear implant; Congenital sensorineural hearing loss; Inferior colliculus; Speech center.