The modulation of tactile stimulation on Mandarin tone production in children with cochlear implant

The impoverished auditory information provided by cochlear implant (CI) results in impaired auditory perception and production in mnay CI users. Speech perception in CI users has been well studied and fully documented. In contrast, much less has been studied for speech production in CI users. Tactile stimulation has been shown to enhance CI performance. In the present study, we aim to discover to what extent that tactile-enhanced speech perception can modulate speech production in CI users. Twelve Mandarin-Chinese speaking children with unilateral cochlear implant were tested under two conditions: vocalizing Mandarin syllables after listening to the audio playback of the same syllables with or withoutfeeling tactile stimulation of the same syllables applied to fingertip. Objective and subjective evaluations were conducted on the recorded Mandarin syllables produced by the subjects. The clarification rate (CLR) and correction rate (CRR) of subject’s tone production evaluated by normal hearing subjects were analized. The perception index (Pt) that indexes the role of tone perception to tone production was calculated. The results show that subjects’ tone production is clearer and more recognizable with the combined tactile and CI stimulation than CI stimulation alone, and the role of tone perception on tone production is higher in CI+Tactile condition than CI only condition. Our results provide important clues for designing efficient speech rehabilitation training program for CI users.