Implicit auditory sensory memory and short-term memory for musical and verbal stimuli in children with cochlear implants.

The spectrally degraded signal delivered by cochlear implants (CIs) has been suggested to constrain the encoding and temporary retention of sequential auditory information. However, research on short-term memory (STM) in children with CIs has predominantly focused on the verbal domain, with musical STM and implicit auditory sensory memory receiving comparatively limited attention. This study investigated the domain-specific nature of auditory STM in children with CIs relative to typically hearing (TH) peers, alongside implicit auditory sensory memory and music perception. Seventy-five children aged 7-15 years participated: 23 TH, 22 unilateral CI, and 30 bilateral CI users. Verbal and musical STM were assessed using a delayed matching-to-sample paradigm with signal detection measures (d', c). Implicit auditory sensory memory was evaluated with a tone pattern detection task (TP-Detect). Music perception was measured using Timbre Identification and Pitch Direction Discrimination. Children with CIs showed lower d' than TH peers on both verbal and musical STM, with a larger deficit for musical material. This verbal advantage persisted after controlling for timbre identification ability, suggesting that the musical STM impairment may not be attributable solely to degraded spectral encoding at the perceptual level. Bilateral CI children performed near chance on TP-Detect, whereas TH and unilateral CI children detected regularity transitions above chance. These findings indicate that children with CIs exhibit auditory memory deficits extending beyond the verbal domain and position musical memory and implicit sensory processing as clinically relevant dimensions of auditory function that may contribute to real-world auditory scene analysis and warrant targeted assessment.