Being bilingual 'protects brain'

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From BBC News,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3794479.stm

Being bilingual 'protects brain'

Being fluent in two languages may help to keep the brain sharper for
longer, a study suggests.  Researchers from York University in Canada
carried out tests on 104 people between the ages of 30 and 88. They found
that those who were fluent in two languages rather than just one were
sharper mentally.

Writing in the journal of Psychology and Ageing, they said being bilingual
may protect against mental decline in old age. Previous studies have shown
that keeping the brain active can protect against senile dementia.
Education in general can bestow benefits on cognitive function in later
life Professor Clive Ballard, Alzheimer's Society Research has shown that
people who play musical instruments, dance or read regularly may be less
likely to develop the condition.  Other activities like doing crosswords
or playing board games may also help.

Language skills

This latest study appears to back up the theory that language skills also
have a protective effect. Dr Ellen Bialystok and colleagues at York
University assessed the cognitive skills of all those involved in the
study using a variety of widely recognised tests. They tested their
vocabulary skills, their non-verbal reasoning ability and their reaction
time.

Half of the volunteers came from Canada and spoke only English. The other
half came from India and were fluent in both English and Tamil. The
volunteers had similar backgrounds in the sense that they were all
educated to degree level and were all middle class. The researchers found
that the people who were fluent in English and Tamil responded faster than
those who were fluent in just English. This applied to all age groups.

The researchers also found that the bilingual volunteers were much less
likely to suffer from the mental decline associated with old age. "The
bilinguals were more efficient at all ages tested and showed a slower rate
of decline for some processes with aging," they said. "It appears...that
bilingualism helps to offset age-related losses."

The UK's Alzheimer's Society welcomed the study.

"These findings, that early development of second language may improve a
specific aspect of cognitive function in later life, are very
interesting," said Professor Clive Ballard, its director of research. "It
is a possibility that the acquisition of a second language in early
childhood may influence the process of the development of neuronal
circuits. "However, the results of this particular study need to be
interpreted cautiously as they were comparing groups of individual of
different nationalities, educated in different systems.

"It is also well recognised that education in general can bestow benefits
on cognitive function in later life."


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3794479.stm

Published: 2004/06/15 23:37:41 GMT

 BBC MMIV