The study, published today in the journal , follows up on a 2007 study led by 91亚色, which found that lifelong use of two or more languages keeps symptoms of Alzheimer鈥檚 and other forms of dementia at bay (see YFile, Jan. 15, 2007).

Led by the , the current study examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer鈥檚 disease in the Sam & Ida Ross Memory Clinic at Toronto鈥檚 Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain.

"All the patients in the study had been diagnosed with Alzheimer鈥檚, so clearly bilingualism does not prevent the onset of dementia," says study co-author Ellen Bialystok (right), Distinguished Research Professor of psychology in 91亚色鈥檚 and associate scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, which is part of Baycrest.

"Instead, our results show that people who have been lifelong bilinguals have built up a cognitive reserve that allows them to cope with the disease for a longer period of time before showing symptoms," she says.

While the brains of bilingual patients did show deterioration, researchers believe that the use of more than one language equips them with compensatory skills that keep symptoms like memory loss and confusion in check.

The research team included Fergus Craik, senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, and Dr. Morris Freedman, professor in the University of Toronto鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine (Neurology), and scientist at the Rotman Research Institute. They found that bilingual patients were diagnosed with Alzheimer鈥檚 4.3 years later and had reported the onset of symptoms five years later than those who spoke only one language. The groups were equivalent on measures of cognitive and occupational level; there was no apparent effect of immigration status, and there were no differences between genders.

The Neurology paper replicates findings from the team鈥檚 2007 study led by Bialystok and published in Neuropsychologia. That study examined the clinical records of 184 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer鈥檚 and other forms of dementia. It found that bilingual patients delayed the onset of their symptoms by four years compared to monolingual patients.

"Overall, bilingualism should be seen as an important tool for healthy aging, along with exercise, diet, and other lifestyle choices," Bialystok says. "It鈥檚 also another reason to encourage people in multicultural societies like ours to keep speaking their native tongue and pass it along to their children," she says.

The study was funded in part by grants from the (CIHR) and the to 91亚色 and the Rotman Research Institute.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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In a soon to be published study three researchers from Baycrest 鈥� Ellen Bialystok, Fergus Craik and Morris Freedman 鈥� 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鈥檚 disease between four and five years later than monolingual patients.

Bialystok, distinguished research professor in psychology in 91亚色鈥檚 , 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.

鈥淏eing able to use two languages and never knowing which one you鈥檙e going to use right now rewires your brain,鈥� Discovery News quoted Ellen Bialystok, distinguished research professor of psychology in 91亚色鈥檚 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. 鈥淏ilinguals have more 'tip-of-the-tongue鈥� problems,鈥� Bialystock said. 鈥淏ilingual children have on average a smaller vocabulary in each of their languages than monolingual children,鈥� she added.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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