Background. Evidence from previous studies suggests that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve because bilinguals manifest the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) up to 5 years later than monolinguals.
In the past, studies have shown that people who are bilingual show symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and dementia around 4.5 -5 years later than people who speak just one language.
In the study, Grundy notes that bilingualism does not prevent or reverse Alzheimer's disease. Instead, it's a form of cognitive reserve, like a demanding career or exercise, that strengthens and reorganizes the brain's circuits, helping to fight off the initial symptoms of dementia until later in life.
Studies show that dementia risk is lowest in people who have several healthy behaviours in mid-life (aged 40–65). These behaviours include: ∎regular mental, physical and social activity ∎not smoking ∎drinking alcohol only in moderation ∎keeping a healthy diet.
The researchers found that bilingual children performed better than monolingual children in working memory tasks. Indeed, the more complex the tasks the better their performance.
Evidence from previous studies suggests that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve because bilinguals manifest the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) up to 5 years later than monolinguals.
Age. The biggest risk factor for dementia is ageing. This means as a person gets older, their risk of developing dementia increases a lot. For people aged between 65 and 69, around 2 in every 100 people have dementia.
Whites make up the majority of the over 5 million people in the United States with Alzheimer's. But, combining evidence from available studies shows that African Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk. than white Americans to have Alzheimer's and other dementias.
Women, People Ages 85 and Older, and Racial and Ethnic Minorities Face Greater Dementia Risk. Dementia is more prevalent at older ages.
Researchers found that young adults who knew two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration compared to those who only spoke one language. They also respond faster or more accurately than their monolingual peers, according to Kapa and Colombo, 2013.
Changes in neurological processing and structure
Bilingual people show increased activation in the brain region associated with cognitive skills like attention and inhibition.
“Overall, bilinguals have developed different brain regions to perform tasks than the ones used by monolinguals,” Bialystok sums up. What remains a mystery is how these changes in brain 'wiring' improve the performance and cognitive reserve of people who speak two languages.
Bilingualism delays AD symptoms by protecting WM tracks in the frontostriatal and frontoparietal executive control circuitry (Gold, 2015). Thus, superior WM integrity and executive control may act as delaying factors for AD onset through bilingualism-induced cognitive reserve.
Why Education May Help Prevent Dementia. Education could play an important role in improving cognitive reserve, which is the brain's ability to cope with damage that would otherwise lead to dementia, according to Oh.
The preferred terms when talking about the impacts of dementia are: disabling • challenging • life-changing • stressful. The following terms should not be used: hopeless • unbearable • impossible • tragic • devastating • painful.
As scientists around the world seek solutions for Alzheimer's disease, a new study reveals that two indigenous groups in the Bolivian Amazon have among the lowest rates of dementia in the world. An international team of researchers found among older Tsimane and Moseten people, only about 1% suffer from dementia.
There is some evidence that vegetarians have a lower risk of dementia [157] and no evidence about the association of a vegan diet with dementia.
Family history
Those who have a parent, brother or sister with Alzheimer's are more likely to develop the disease. The risk increases if more than one family member has the illness. When diseases tend to run in families, either heredity (genetics), environmental factors, or both, may play a role.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
On the other hand, some of the disadvantages of bilingualism are an apparent delay in language acquisition; interference between the two phonological, lexical, and grammatical systems; and a possible decrease in vocabulary in both languages.
The idea that two languages causes language delays in children has been a long-standing myth in the United States. However, research has dispelled this myth. Children are able to learn two languages at the same pace as other children who are learning only one language.
Bilingualism is divided into three different types. Both co-ordinated bilingualism and compound bilingualism develop in early childhood and are classified as forms of early bilingualism. The third type is late bilingualism, which develops when a second language is learned after age 12.