Bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve: Evidence from brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease

The effects of bilingualism on the white matter structure of the brain

“…The structural findings by Luk and colleagues were challenged by Gold and colleagues (7), who tested 20 older lifelong bilinguals and 63 age-matched monolinguals and who reported lower FA values for bilinguals in several tracts, including the left IFOF, the fornix, and the CC. Gold and colleagues noted that this difference may be a result of the higher prevalence of Alzheimer's disease among their bilinguals, however, and despite the observed reduction in WM integrity, the authors point out that their bilinguals were comparable or even more efficient than the monolinguals in a series of executive tasks, as reported in a separate study (8), which is in accordance with previous findings on bilinguals with Alzheimer's disease (2).…”

“…1 for a review). This has been particularly evidenced in populations of older bilinguals, leading to the suggestion that the experience of bilingualism results in a cognitive "reserve" in older age (2). At the same time, a growing number of neuroimaging studies have suggested that the cognitive benefits in bilinguals are often accompanied by, and possibly related to, structural changes in their brains (for recent reviews, see refs.…”

Lifelong Bilingualism Maintains White Matter Integrity in Older Adults

“…The group differences observed in WM integrity and in resting-state functional connectivity indicate distinct neural patterns even when behavior was held constant. In a recent study, Schweizer et al (2011) have shown that bilingual patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease showed a greater amount of brain atrophy compared to their monolingual peers, matched on cognitive performance and education level. An interesting observation in that study was that the bilinguals achieved comparable cognitive performance despite their greater brain atrophy.…”

Language attrition and reactivation in the context of bilingual first language acquisition

“…In a context of increasing recognition that bilingualism and multilingualism are the norm and monolingualism the exception (Baker 2011;Crystal 1987;Dewaele, Housen, and Wei 2003;Romaine 1995, among others), and mounting evidence of cognitive and neurophysiological benefits of bilingualism (Bialystok, Craik, and Luk 2012;Schweizer et al 2012, among others), a child's simultaneous exposure to more than one language from birth can be seen as a shortcut to a wide range of assets at the personal and societal levels. This paper focuses on a case of bilingual first language acquisition, henceforth BFLA (De Houwer 1990;Meisel 1989;Swain 1976), and follows certain language development and maintenance patterns of a young Canadian child exposed to English and Bulgarian (henceforth ENG and BG) from birth.…”