Duration and extent of bilingual experience modulate neurocognitive outcomes

DeLuca, Vincent; Rothman, Jason; Bialystok, Ellen; Pliatsikas, Christos

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116222

Cited by 75 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, they reported no significant correlations between these concentrations and executive control abilities as were measured by a Flanker Task, nor a significant difference in task performance between the two groups. This study suggests that there might be effects of bilingualism on brain metabolism that are not detectable behaviourally, echoing some evidence in the neuroimaging literature suggesting that behavioural measures might not always capture latent effects of bilingualism on brain function 38 . More to the present point, this set of results provided the first evidence that bilingualism-induced neuroplasticity might have its roots in changes in metabolite concentrations.…”

supporting

confidence: 69%

“…Notably, such effects can be both observed after extended long-term exposure in a bilingual environment 33,34 and after shortterm intensive language training 35,36 . Moreover, recent literature has shown that the nature and location of these effects is modulated by quantitative measures of the depth and intensity of experiences bilinguals have with using their languages and opportunities to switch between them [37][38][39][40] . Over all, it seems reasonable to predict that the continuously challenging task of handling two (or even more) languages would result in brain changes at the neurochemical level; bilingualism requires greater and more sustained efficiency in brain regions subserving language and cognitive control, such as the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) and parts of the basal ganglia such as the caudate nucleus and putamen.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Long-term cognitively challenging experiences modulate metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain: the case of bilingualism

Pliatsikas¹,

DeLuca²,

Soares³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cognitively demanding experiences, including complex skills acquisition and processing, have been shown to induce brain adaptations, at least at the macroscopic level, e.g. on brain volume and/or functional connectivity. However, the neurobiological bases of these adaptations, including at the microstructural cellular level, remain poorly understood. Here we use bilingualism as a case study to investigate the microscopic correlates of experience-based brain adaptations. We employ Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to measure concentrations of metabolites in the ventral striatum, a region critical to language control which is reshaped by bilingualism. Our results revealed increased concentration of myo-Inositol in bilinguals compared to monolinguals. This metabolite is linked to synaptic pruning, a process underlying experience-based brain restructuring. Crucially, concentration was predicted by relative amount of bilingual engagement. Our results suggest that (degree of) long-term cognitive experiences have measurable effects at the microcellular level, which might accompany, if not drive, the observed macroscopic brain adaptations.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 69%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term cognitively challenging experiences modulate metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain: the case of bilingualism

Pliatsikas¹,

DeLuca²,

Soares³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As discussed above, bilingual language control inevitably aligns with domain-general executive control. If some executive functions are more engaged, potentially on a continuum related to bilingual practices such as density of code-switching (Green and Wei, 2016;Hofweber et al, 2016) or patterns of social language use (DeLuca et al, 2020), then this ubiquitous proverbial muscle-flexing over a sustained period of time could lead to the accruing of cognitive reserve and changes to neuroanatomical structure (opportunities for gains in neural reserve) (Pliatsikas et al, 2019). Effects at any point along the life-span continuum, different as their surface manifestations might seem, should, in principle, relate back to the same mechanisms and processes as above described.…”

Section: Motivating the Program: Why Should This Be?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Failure to replicate the same cognitive effects across populations tested under distinct conditions of bilingualism are not, nor should be, surprising per se (see Bak and Robertson, 2017;Bialystok, 2017;Valian, 2015). It does, however, underscore the importance of investigating potential bilingual effects in a more nuanced way to understand what the conditions are, if any, under which bilingualism results in neurocognitive adaptations (Dash et al, 2019;De Cat et al, 2018;DeLuca et al, 2019DeLuca et al, , 2020Gullifer and Titone, 2019;Luk and Bialystok, 2013;Sulpizio et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Alzheimer’s Disease: Bilingualism and Other Types of Neurodegeneration

Voits¹,

Pliatsikas²,

Robson³

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bilingualism has been argued to have an impact on cognition and brain structure. Such effects have been reported in healthy children and young adults, but also in ageing adults, including clinical ageing populations. For example, bilingualism may significantly contribute to the delaying of the expression of Alzheimer’s dementia symptoms. If bilingualism plays an ameliorative role against neurodegeneration, it is possible that it would have similar effects for other neurodegenerative disorders, including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Diseases; however, relevant evidence remains limited. Herein, we provide a focused literature review on the effects of these progressive neurological disorders on cognition and brain structure, examine how the affected functions and brain regions map to those suggested to be impacted by bilingualism, and report the limited evidence of the impact of bilingualism on these conditions. We then examine the value of making links across neurodegenerative disorders and bilingualism, proposing that available evidence warrants claims for bilingualism- related effects more generally, with an eye at future research to fill in gaps in our understanding.

show abstract

“…Briefly, specific experience-based factors related to bilingualism (such as extent and duration of active L2 use) predicted specific adaptations in the brain. This study sets an example of investigating how different dimensions of bilingualism may affect brain structures and functions within bilinguals (DeLuca et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilingualism, Demographics, and Cognitive Control: A Within-Group Approach

Xie

Zhou

2020

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies have suggested a bilingual advantage in cognitive control as a result of the bilinguals' language experience. However, the results are controversial as there are various factors (language proficiency, SES, culture, and intelligence, etc.) affecting cognitive control. In the current study, after between-group comparisons, we adopted a within-group approach by multiple regressions to investigate whether the performance by 10-to-75-year-old participants (N = 91) of tasks measuring inhibition, monitoring, and mental set shifting could be predicted by bilingualism, or demographic factors, or both. The results of multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that L2 proficiency was a significant predictor for conflict monitoring and inhibition, education and age were significant predictors for mental set shifting, and SES was a minor predictor for inhibition. These findings provide evidence that cognitive control is affected by both bilingualism and demographic factors. Future studies are encouraged to further identify the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive control from specific bilingual experience.

show abstract

Duration and extent of bilingual experience modulate neurocognitive outcomes

Cited by 75 publications

References 62 publications

Long-term cognitively challenging experiences modulate metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain: the case of bilingualism

Long-term cognitively challenging experiences modulate metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain: the case of bilingualism

Beyond Alzheimer’s Disease: Bilingualism and Other Types of Neurodegeneration

Bilingualism, Demographics, and Cognitive Control: A Within-Group Approach

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About