Investigation of deficits in auditory emotional content recognition by adult cochlear implant users through the study of electroencephalographic gamma and alpha asymmetry and alexithymia assessment

Background/Objectives: Given the importance of emotion recognition for communicationpurposes, and the impairment for such skill in CI users despite impressive language performances,the aim of the present study was to investigate the neural correlates of emotion recognition skills,apart from language, in adult unilateral CI (UCI) users during a music in noise (happy/sad) recognitiontask. Furthermore, asymmetry was investigated through electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythm,given the traditional concept of hemispheric lateralization for emotional processing, and the intrinsicasymmetry due to the clinical UCI condition. Methods: Twenty adult UCI users and eight normalhearing (NH) controls were recruited. EEG gamma and alpha band power was assessed as there isevidence of a relationship between gamma and emotional response and between alpha asymmetryand tendency to approach or withdraw from stimuli. The TAS-20 questionnaire (alexithymia) wascompleted by the participants. Results: The results showed no effect of background noise, whilesupporting that gamma activity related to emotion processing shows alterations in the UCI groupcompared to the NH group, and that these alterations are also modulated by the etiology of deafness.In particular, relative higher gamma activity in the CI side corresponds to positive processes, correlatedwith higher emotion recognition abilities, whereas gamma activity in the non-CI side maybe related to positive processes inversely correlated with alexithymia and also inversely correlatedwith age; a correlation between TAS-20 scores and age was found only in the NH group. Conclusions:EEG gamma activity appears to be fundamental to the processing of the emotional aspect of musicand also to the psychocognitive emotion-related component in adults with CI.