Foreign language training as cognitive therapy for age-related cognitive decline: A hypothesis for future research

Abstract

Over the next fifty years, the number of older adults is set to reach record levels. Protecting older adults from the age-related effects of cognitive decline is one of the greatest challenges of the next few decades as it places increasing pressure on families, health systems, and economies on a global scale. The disease-state of age-related cognitive decline—Alzheimer's disease and other dementias—hijacks our consciousness and intellectual autonomy. However, there is evidence that cognitively stimulating activities protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Similarly, bilingualism is also considered to be a safeguard. We propose that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. It is recommended that future research should test this potentially fruitful hypothesis.

The Impact of L2 Learning on Cognitive Aging

“…It seems quite possible that, if these changes can be maintained to the elderly, they are bound to constitute cognitive reserve, suppressing the decrease of neurons or nerve fibers winding causing age-related cognitive decline. Given that the aged brain retains somewhat plasticity [40], foreign language learning initiated in old age is also likely to have analogous effects, and be used as an effective therapy to Alzheimer's disease [17]. However, up to present, few empirical studies have been conducted to give definite evidence to this end.…”

“…However, it is well accepted that typical manifestations may be memory loss and decline of executive control, poor working memory and slow information processing. Of course language and communication are also affected, including bad speech perception and production, reduced semantic comprehension in natural language environment, poor vocabulary memory, among others [17].…”

“…This seems inconsistent with Luk's results. The authors interpreted that this inconsistency could be due to the fact that their bilingual subjects were more likely to be at a preclinical AD stage, who might have suffered moderate neuron degeneration but maintained a comparable normal cognitive function with monolinguals since the decrease of FA (fractional anisotropy) and the increase of DR (radial diffusivity) were well-recognized as the neuroimaging characteristics of aMCI [17,39]. They also suggested that bilinguals did not necessarily have increased WM, but might actually compensate for their WM degeneration through the use of their more efficient executive function networks [17].…”

“…Wolf et al (2001) suggests that the turning point from normal cognitive aging to earlier Alzheimer's disease may be detected by hippocampal atrophy. Meanwhile, WM density decreases in the pertinent brain regions responsible for information processing speed and executive function due to the effect of demyelinization caused by aging [17].…”

Predictors of Successful Learning in Multilingual Older Adults Acquiring a Majority Language

“…Yet, cognitive benefits (Bak et al, 2016), neural reorganization (Mohr et al, 2014), and learning success (Marcotte and Ansaldo, 2014) have been demonstrated with language training in older adults. The literature on older adults' language learning remains sparse (Blumenfeld, 2012;Antoniou et al, 2013;Marcotte and Ansaldo, 2014;Bak et al, 2016) and clear practical and theoretical needs exist for a better understanding of language learning capacity across the lifespan. For example, of the US population above age 60, 15% speak a language other than English at home and, of these individuals, 58% speak English "less than very well" (Ryan, 2013).…”