The role of vision on the speech recovery after cochlear implantation is a subject of debate. In our study, we assessed the role of crossmodal reorganization and plasticity in auditory recovery in cochlear implanted deaf patients. Our results demonstrate that the initial functional level of the visual cortex leads to the greater proficiency in auditory recovery. Experienced patients had greater activity in the left middle temporal cortex known for audiovisual integration. The time course of temporal and visual activity in experienced patients was highly correlated meaning their synchronized integrative activity. Our data confirms the importance of visual activity and audiovisual integration in speech comprehension in cochlear implanted subjects by establishing the neural underpinnings for this integration.

Index Terms: cochlear implantation, speech, vision