The modern cochlear implant (CI) is the most successful neural prosthesis developed to date. CIs provide hearing to the profoundly hearing impaired and allow the acquisition of spoken language in children born deaf. Results from studies enabled by the CI have provided new insights into (a) minimal representations at the periphery for speech reception, (b) brain mechanisms for decoding speech presented in quiet and in acoustically adverse conditions, (c) the developmental neuroscience of language and hearing, and (d) the mechanisms and time courses of intramodal and cross-modal plasticity. Additionally, the results have underscored the interconnectedness of brain functions and the importance of top-down processes in perception and learning. The findings are described in this review with emphasis on the developing brain and the acquisition of hearing and spoken language.

中文翻译：

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听力和语言的神经元发展：人工耳蜗和关键时期。

现代的人工耳蜗（CI）是迄今为止开发的最成功的神经假体。CI可以为听力严重受损的人提供听力，并允许聋哑儿童获得口语。CI开展的研究结果为以下方面提供了新的见解：（a）外围用于语音接收的最小表示；（b）解码在安静和听觉不利条件下呈现的语音的大脑机制；（c）语言的发展神经科学和听力，以及（d）模态内和跨模态可塑性的机制和时程。此外，结果强调了大脑功能的相互联系以及自上而下的过程在感知和学习中的重要性。