Speaking two languages is great for brain health. Bilingualism would improve brain capacity and slow down its senescence according to the results of this analysis published in the specialized journal Annals of Neurology.
For this study, University of Edinburgh researchers used medical data from the ‘Lothian 1936’ cohort, made up of 835 native English speakers who were born and live in the Edinburgh area. Participants took an intelligence test in 1947, at age 11, again in the 1970s, and between 2008 and 2010. 262 participants reported being able to communicate in at least one language other than English. ‘English. Among them, 195 learned this second language before the age of 18 and 65 thereafter.
“Our study is the first to examine whether learning a second language impacts cognitive performance later in life,” says lead author Dr Thomas Bak of the Center for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
Speaking two languages slows brain aging
The results of this research indicate that people who spoke two or more languages had significantly better cognitive abilities compared to “the average expected at their age”. The strongest effects were seen in general intelligence and reading. These effects were observed among all bilinguals, and regardless of the age of learning the second language.
“We had the unique opportunity to study the interaction between bilingualism and cognitive aging, taking into account cognitive abilities prior to the acquisition of a second language”, concludes Dr. Bak. “These results are of considerable practical importance. Millions of people around the world acquire their second language later in life. Our study shows that bilingualism, even acquired in adulthood, can slow brain aging.”
After reviewing the study, Dr Alvaro Pascual-Leone, associate editor of Annals of Neurology and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, stated that “Dr Bak’s epidemiological study and its colleagues provides an important first step in understanding the impact of second language learning and brain aging. This research paves the way for future causal studies of bilingualism and prevention of cognitive decline”.
