This federal Project Grant award, provided by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, CFDA 93.173), will fund research to investigate the capability of a vestibular implant (VI) to improve cognitive dysfunction in patients with severe vestibular damage. The $651,779 award to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary will measure the effects of chronic VI stimulation on spatial orientation, navigation, and neuropsychological function in bilateral vestibular loss (BVL) patients, both with and without the VI. The study will also evaluate cognitive deficits in non-implanted BVL and unilateral vestibular loss (UVL) patients, and correlate these measures with patient-reported outcomes on symptom severity and quality of life. The goal is to determine if the VI can improve cognitive symptoms caused by severe vestibular damage, which could expand the clinical utility of this prosthetic technology while advancing scientific understanding of vestibular contributions to cognition. The award period runs from September 1, 2024 to July 31, 2029.
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