Bilingual Differences Between Alzheimer's And Dementia

Extensive research has been done on learning and speaking languages, and its known that people who speak multiple languages have better cognitive abilities than those who speak one language. Adults that speak many languages have higher intelligence, more perspective of

Having the ability to speak more than one language influences one’ life deeply. Speaking two or more languages can affect someone from being infants to old age. Bhattacharjee continues with, “The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there

Kids that learn a second language at an earlier age tend to have the ability to multitask with ease. In a video called The benefits of a bilingual brain - Mia Nacamulli, she explains how although being bilingual would not make you smarter it does keep your brain healthy and more active and

New research has shown that being bilingual slows the growth of the Alzheimer's disease. This study was lead by Jubin Abutalebi of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan. It was said that bilingual people form stronger connections in their brains than those who only speak 1 language. Having these stronger networks

Delays Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease: As we know, there is no cure for Dementia. However, there are many lifestyle choices we can make that will have an impact on its onset. Significant research has shown that exercise helps individuals in middle adulthood to retain cognitive abilities, very likely by maintaining physical fitness (Boyd 2015). In addition to exercise, other factors that contribute to limiting mental decay include diet and education. (Abutalebi, Guidi et al. 2015) Evidence shows Bilinguals are diagnosed with Dementia 4-5 years after Monolinguals (Abutalebi, Guidi et al. 2015). Considering the vast size of the aging population that is affected by Dementia and Alzheimer’s, some researchers even hypothesize if using Bilingualism as a preventative method would be effective (Antoniou, Gunasekera et al. 2013). It is believed that Bilingualism delays early symptoms of clinical Alzheimer’s disease by protecting frontostriatal and frontoparietal executive control circuitry rather than medial temporal lobe circuitry, the latter being where Alzheimer’s first presents itself affecting medial temporal lobe circuitry and memory functions (Gold 2015). Additionally, Bilingualism has shown to alter the functional connectivity between the dACC (Dorsal Anterior Cingular Cortex) and the language regions of the brain (Li, Abutalebi et al.

Learning any foreign language has its advantageous abilities, most notably that learning a new language delays the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s. A study conducted by Dr. Thomas Bak, a lecturer in the philosophy, psychology, and language sciences department

The United States of America (U.S.) is a nation built of immigrants. These immigrants brought many diverse languages to the U.S.. The major languages of the U.S. besides English consist of Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French, Vietnamese, German, and Korean. Although Multilingualism or bilingualism is uncommon in the U.S., it is common in other countries. Multilingualism or bilingualism people appear to acquire knowledge faster and have superior executive functions (Diamond). This concept was discussed in class and proves that learning another language can be extremely beneficial. Spanish is a great second language to learn due to the fact that it is the nations second most used language in the U.S.. The importance of Spanish-speaking is

Bilingualism is a person’s ability to speak two or more languages fluently. Initially it was believed that bilingualism had negative effects on an individual’s intelligence and speech and it was thought that the knowledge of multiple languages would complicate one’s thought processing rather than improve its functioning. This theory

There are over 7,000 different languages known to man and millions of people who speak those languages. However, some people only know one language, and this puts them at a disadvantage. Jeffrey Kluger, a writer and science reporter, wrote an essay titled, “Understanding How the Brain Speaks Two Languages” where he gives examples how language helps develop the brain and has a positive effect on the brain. Kluger supports this by using the Stroop test, research done on children’s vocabulary, and research done on the elderly’s mental health to show the benefits of bilingualism is. Speaking a foreign language improves the brain function and cognitive skills because it allows a person to understand more, connect well with others, and make quicker

Finally, bilingualism offers a means of averting the natural decline of cognitive function and enhancing brain function during aging. This is due to keeping the cognitive mechanisms sharp and replacing damaged brain networks during aging. Researchers compared the brains of bilingual and monolingual patients with Alzheimer. The brains of “bilingual people showed a significantly higher degree of physical atrophy in regions commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease” (Marian and Shook, 2012, p. 1). This suggests that the use of two languages protects bilinguals from the symptoms of the disease. Bilingualism itself does not directly affect Alzheimer’s disease, but the use of two languages provides a level of cognitive reserve, which enables

Valian believes that while bilingualism is only one of the factors that may boost cognitive functioning and that data from children and young adults are currently inconclusive, a bilingual advantage seems to be present among older people. Indeed, as Valian (2014a) suggests, studying younger individuals is difficult per se because they are exposed to so many other activities that may enhance executive function. There are currently very few studies on bilingualism in the aging

Because of the internationalization trend nowadays, being bilingual definitely is an advantage when it comes to jobs. Most of employers prefer to hire employees with two or more fluent languages, and are willing to pay them a higher salary; but this is not the only perk. the brain gets advantages by speaking two or more languages from improved cognitive skills, which helps it develop denser grey matter, improve decision making skills , and delay the onset of dementia. This can be considered as brain training which pushes your brain more flexible.

I found an artcle on hufflingtonpost that talks about the benefits of being bilingual. The article states that people who speak multiply laguages have a higher level of mental flexibility than people who only speak one language. In the past bilnguals were looked down on. When you're swichting languages all the time, it strengthens your mental muscle and your executive function becomes enrached. There was an experiement performed on both spanish and english speakers to see if both lagunages were active in their minds at all time. At first the subjects 512 sentences in either english or spanish, switch between the two every two sentence. They had to read cognates out load in red as quicky as possible. The results show bilnguals rarely said a

Do you think if you were exposed to a second language earlier as in the toddler stage rather than as a teenager it would affect you differently? “Researchers found that young adults proficient in two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration than those who spoke only one language, irrespective of whether they had learned that second language during infancy, childhood or their teen years,” writes Christopher Wanjek. Learning a second language offers proven benefits for intelligence, memory, and concentration and lowered risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Being bilingual improves cognitive skills, helps the aging of the brain, and provides more job opportunities.

Learning a second language at a young age has long-term benefits that can be felt even in old age. As human’s age their brains atrophy, but bilingual people can delay the consequences of this damage. These individuals are constantly experiencing the world using two languages so, while a monolingual person remembers how to ride a bike in one language, a bilingual person stores that memory twice, once in their first language a once in their second. This allows bilingual