Dr. Gold says knowing a second language made no difference for the young adults. They did better at the exercises than both groups of older people. But he says the older bilingual adults appear to have built up a kind of surplus from a lifetime of increased mental activity.
He says his research confirms a previous study on bilingualism among patients with Alzheimer's, a brain-wasting disease. That study showed that bilingual speakers developed more damage, but were able to think at the same level as patients with less damage.
“This study showed that the bilinguals tended to have more brain atrophy, suggesting, you know, the fact that they're at the same cognitive level, somehow their bilingualism is helping them to compensate for that more brain atrophy. This finding that we have is consistent with that, because it basically says that bilinguals as seniors are able to do more with less.”
Dr. Gold says he believes the new study confirms that bilingualism can play a protective role in the brain. He now plans to study whether learning a second language or immigrating to another country as an adult can provide some of the same mental advantages as lifelong bilingualism.
The study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.
【Lifelong bilingualism gives seniors mental edge】相关文章:
★ I will persist until I succeed 1
★ Someone making decisions for me
★ If I Had My Life to Live Over
★ Shining light in dark corners
★ I will persist until I succeed 2
最新
2020-12-21
2020-08-06
2020-07-31
2020-07-30
2020-07-30
2020-07-30