Bilingualism And Aging

This trend was also prevalent in the right hemisphere for bilinguals however not seen in monolinguals (x = 56, y = -53, z = 42; Z-score = 3.4; P<0.001). Voxel-based morphometry revealed that overall proficiency correlated negatively with age of acquisition (P<0.01; r=-0.855) and second-language proficiency correlated with grey-matter density in exactly the same left inferior parietal region previously identified by a different study (x = -48, y = -59, z = 46; Z-score = 4.1; P<0.05). (Mechelli, 2004)

In many studies, bilingual learners' brain can have better attentiveness and the ability to switch tasks than a mono-lingual learner’s brain because of their cognitive ability to control to suppress one language while using another language or switch from one language to another language simultaneously. Bilingualism also positively affects learners' academic progress (Saer, D. J. 1923).

In Being bilingual pushes back dementia by nearly 5 years: study Tracy Miller states that, “People who were bilingual or multilingual developed dementia an average of 4.5 years later than those who spoke only one language, researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.” Yet another reason bilingual education is important, and another point to prove to the critics of the far reach that the correct education can have.

“Cognitive functions can be defined as cerebral activities that lead to knowledge, encompass reasoning, memory, attention, and language that leads directly to the attainment of information and, thus, knowledge” (What are cognitive functions). Many students at Doulos are unaware of the benefits of knowing two languages. Ironically students also don’t know that their own brain and its skills are improving because of their second language. Doulos teaches classes throughout the whole day in both English and Spanish. Students are regularly changing between languages and their brain is always active with both languages. “This constant practice strengthens the control mechanisms and changes the associated brain regions” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). People who are bilingual are capable of switching between tasks more efficiently. “For example, when bilinguals have to switch from categorizing objects by color (red or green) to categorizing them by shape, they do so more rapidly than monolingual people, reflecting better cognitive control when changing strategies on the fly” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). Students’ cognitive and sensory process skills are more developed due to being bilingual (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). These improvements allow students to better process and understand information in different environments, thus leading to better

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.

al., 2010). While individuals with ADHD may be hindered in working memory, bilinguals are noted to have better executive skills and thus better working memory. According to the article, "Effects of classroom bilingualism on task-shifting, verbal memory, and word learning in children", bilingual individuals outperform monolingual individuals on tasks involving verbal working memory (Kaushanskaya et al., 2014). Moreover, it is shown that bilingual performance relative to monolinguals increases with more difficult tasks. These results were interpreted that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals in these tasks because bilinguals may have a greater executive functioning , specifically controlling attention, than monolinguals. As proposed in "Bilingual brain training: A neurobiological framework of how bilingual experience improves executive function", bilingual practice enhance the key functions of the basal ganglia- "the capacity of selecting the appropriate rules in response to very specific conditions, and the capacity of overriding habitual responses encoded within cortico-cortical connections" (Stocco,

The ability to inhibit thoughts has effect on EF (executive functioning), and thus inhibit ability is increased in two-language children. It requires halting the thought process of one specific language. Through this, two-language children also seem to have an increased ability in focusing their attention, which could be due to the ability to inhibit outside, intrusive influence (such as their other language shining through their speech). They also can pick and choose one correct solution in a conflicting situation, again because of this inhibition practice. It is unknown what level of bilingualism is

In an article called “Being Bilingual Makes You Smarter” it states that “the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function,a command system that directs the attention processes

Schweizer, T et al. 2011. Bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve: Evidence from brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease. Elsevier 48(8): 991-996.

Lifelong bilingualism has been associated with enhanced cognition. Scientists suggest that the bilingual experience is closely related to neurological variations observed in brain anatomy and function of bilinguals versus monolinguals. For instance, research conducted by Olsen et al. (2015) investigated the structural brain differences of lifelong bilingualism. Given the importance of the frontal and temporal lobes in executive and language functions, they hypothesized that bilinguals would exhibit greater volume of these cortical areas. The researchers discovered that bilinguals had more white matter in frontal lobe regions, which emphasizes the importance of preserved white matter in executive function. Following immersion in a second language, young adults also demonstrated increases in grey matter in the inferior frontal gyrus and anterior temporal lobe (Stein et al., 2012). Not only have scientists examined white and grey

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

Goral, Campanelli & Spiro (2013) examined the behavioral performance of elderly bilinguals in three cognitive domains (inhibition, attention and working memory), and suggests that bilingualism may confer a cognitive advantage in old age only for a subset of bilinguals.

In a study of bilingual adults, non-verbal executive functions were found to be a key mechanism system used to solve two or more linguistic conflicts caused by the process of manifesting language co-activation of bilingualism (Ellen Bialystok, 2015). Behavioral visual tracking, event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies support the argument of co-language activation. The two implications are related to the viewpoint that this language conflict management is the basic mechanism for the bilingual effect on cognition. The first suggestion is that this effect is inherently available due to training in increasing experience frequency. Therefore, there is evidence that bilingual experience increases cognitive benefits.

Greater attention to detail, stronger attention, and inhibition ability, and staving the onset of cognitive decline in the elderly (Marian and Shook (2012). Physical changes to the brain have also been observed, whereby scientists discovered that bilinguals have a greater amount of grey matter and a reduction white matter (Marian and Shook, 2012). Ian (2018) described a difference between grey matter and white matter as “Processing is concluded in the grey matter, while white matter allows communication to and from grey matter areas, and between grey matter and the other parts of the body.” An increase in grey matter therefore equates to greater processing ability. Sternberg and Sternberg (2017) also identified higher starting salaries for individuals that spoke more than one language.

Possessing adequate knowledge of Spanish is not only important for job applications or business procedures. Studying a foreign language broadens one's horizons in many other ways and offers a plethora of benefits. For example, “research indicates that knowing and using two languages reduces your chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease” (“Top Ten”). This is because being bilingual facilitates a healthier brain and creates stronger pathways for memory retention and increased concentration. Moreover, this increase in cognitive function may be due to elevated levels of “blood and oxygen [flowing] to the brain” (Perry).