Visualization of stimulation patterns in cochlear implants: application to event-related potentials (P300) in cochlear implant users.

Auditory P300 potentials obtained in cochlear implant users were evoked with tone bursts designed to reflect the frequency stimulation patterns of intracochlear electrodes. To visualize these stimulation patterns in MED-EL COMBI 40+ cochlear implants, we calculated color-coded plots of the charge of each stimulus pulse as a function of time and stimulation channel (stimulograms). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of stimulation patterns on event-related potentials, such as the P300. The influence of electrode separation on the P300 response in postlingually deaf adults using a cochlear implant is demonstrated in two examples.