MATURATIONAL DELAYS IN CORTICAL EVOKED-POTENTIALS IN COCHLEAR IMPLANTUSERS

We studied the effects of prolonged auditory deprivation in children i n whom auditory stimulation was restored by a cochlear implant. The la tency of the P-1 component of the late cortical potential was used as the indicator of auditory system maturation. For normal-hearing childr en there is a gradual evolution of evoked potential features that exte nds through adolescence with P-1 latency becoming adult-like at about age 15. It appears that maturation of P-1 latency in normal and implan ted children occurs at the same rate, but the time to maturity in impl anted subjects is delayed by an amount approximately equal to the dura tion of deafness.