Three hypotheses for cognitive deficits among psychopaths were tested: Response modulation, left hemisphere activation, and an interaction between the 2. Twenty-six psychopathic and 32 nonpsychopathic criminal offenders identified with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised were randomly assigned to left- and right-hemisphere activation groups. An auditory processing task was administered, such that the ability to classify nonverbal auditory signals and the ability to manage subgoals were assessed under left- and right-hemisphere activation conditions. The results showed that psychopaths' information processing in general, including response modulation, was deleteriously affected by left-hemisphere activation, supporting 2 of the 3 hypotheses tested. These results offer an explanation for inconsistent findings of executive deficits among psychopaths. (JINS, 2005, 11, 311–321.)

Central electrical stimulation of the auditory pathway can allow hearing in patients sufferingfrom deafness localized in the auditory nerve. Developments in a multi-channel auditory brainstem implant based on the Nucleus Mini 22 Cochlear implant with transcutaneous signal transmission is discussed. The devices have been implanted in nine European patients suffering from Neurofibromatosis Type 2. Preliminary speech perception results and patient satisfaction are encouraging, and the data presented include some limited open speech recognition.