Ellen Bialystok, a cognitive neuroscientist and research professor of psychology, has made the study of bilingualism her life’s work. After nearly 40 years of research, she has discovered that regularly speaking two languages offers a number of benefits, including a delay in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Bialystok found that there’s a significant difference between monolinguals and bilinguals in terms of how they process language. Bilingualism sharpens the mind’s ability to maintain multiple pieces of information in play and switch between them, effectively improving one’s multitasking skills.
A study published by Dr. Bialystok in 2004 showed that normally aging monolingual individuals experience a more pronounced loss of cognitive functioning than their normally aging bilingual counterparts. In later studies, the records of 400 Alzheimer’s patients were examined. The findings revealed that while bilingualism didn’t prevent Alzheimer’s disease, those who spoke two languages manifested symptoms five to six years later than the monolinguals.
For more information, read “The Bilingual Advantage” on NYTimes.com.
I’ve heard about this. Dr. Craik said.”We are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer’s or other dementias, but it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms for quite some time,”.The brains of people who speak two languages still show deterioration from Alzheimer’s pathology; however, their special ability with two languages seems to equip them with compensatory skills to hold back the tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer’s, such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning.