Bilingualism is good for brain

Speaking two languages on a regular basis is associated with certain types of improved mental performances, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto.

Bilingualism can delay Alzheimer’s disease symptoms by a span of four to five years, the study confirms.

The longer a person has spoken two or more languages, the greater the cognitive effects.

The effects are much stronger in case of kids and older people as compared to youngsters.

"Being able to use two languages and never knowing which one you're going to use right now rewires your brain," said Ellen Bialystok of YorkUniversity in Toronto, Canada, whose work Diamond cited repeatedly in the article.

"The attentional executive system which is crucial for all higher thought -- it's the most important cognitive piece in how we think -- that system seems to be enhanced," she noted.

The study details

The study looked at 100 people who could speak two languages and 100 people who could speak only one language.

The bilingual people have an ability to stop irrelevant or interfering information to enter their brain, allowing them to concentrate on relevant information only, the researchers explained.

This ability applies to language, wherein bilingual people focus on the language they are using and damp down on the one they are not using.

"We have demonstrated in at least two separate studies of several hundred people altogether that -- all else being equal -- people who have spent their lives speaking two languages are better able to cope with the pathology of Alzheimer's," Ellen said.

"They show symptoms of the disease up to four years later than monolinguals. Once the disease starts to destroy areas of the brain, bilinguals are able to keep functioning," he added.

Compensates for degeneration
Bilingualism does not hamper brain degeneration, in fact it provides a compensation for the degeneration.

It is similar to what happens when older people do crossword puzzles and Sudoku to keep cognitively active.

A cognitive reserve is produced in people speaking two languages, which scientists believe is linked with increased connections in the brain between neurons. That connectivity normally declines with age.

The study has been published today in the journal 'Science.'

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