In a soon to be published study three researchers from Baycrest – Ellen Bialystok, Fergus Craik and Morris Freedman – found in a study of more than 100 bilingual patients and 100 monolingual patients that the bilinguals experienced the onset of symptoms and were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease between four and five years later than monolingual patients.

Bialystok, distinguished research professor in psychology in 91��ɫ’s , Craik, a senior scientist at Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, and Freedman, a neurologist at Baycrest, confirmed results from an earlier study in which they examined hospital records from about 100 bilingual and 100 monolingual patients.

Bialystok's research was profiled by .

She also for Discovery News:

A new study from the University of California, Los Angeles has revealed that the ability to speak multiple languages is associated with better mental capacities.

“Being able to use two languages and never knowing which one you’re going to use right now rewires your brain,” Discovery News quoted Ellen Bialystok, distinguished research professor of psychology in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Health, whose work has been cited by Jared Diamond of the University of California in his article.

Bialystok also added that bilinguals fare better at multitasking tasks, including ones that simulated driving and talking on a phone. However, being able to speak more than one language comes at a cost, she said. “Bilinguals have more 'tip-of-the-tongue’ problems,” Bialystock said. “Bilingual children have on average a smaller vocabulary in each of their languages than monolingual children,” she added.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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But while moviegoers have flocked to recent 3-D offerings, film fans also have had mixed reviews about their experiences, with some reporting headaches, nausea, vision problems and motion sickness. With 3-D leaping to the small screen, clinical researchers and tech experts want to know whether the special effect might damage eyes in the process.

“The problem with 3-D displays is that unlike the real world, only a subset of the information that normally informs us about the 3-D structure of the world is present,” said , a computer science professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering who specializes in 3-D vision and technology.

And processing that incomplete visual information does, in fact, impact our eyes.

Better technology is alleviating the problem.

Allison also noted that recent 3-D movies have gotten better at reducing eye strain by mimicking our natural stereoscopic vision. “People are becoming less gimmick-oriented in terms of 3-D content,” Allison explained. “There’s more emphasis on a comfortable viewing experience where stereopsis enriches the experience rather than defining it, and recent movies like Avatar or Up have been very easy on the eyes.”

The complete article is . For more information about visit the project's website.

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