Bilingualism: Benefits for AD?

 

Neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to be shaped by experiences, lends itself to a multitude of facets, one of which can be extended to language. Learning a language is essential for human beings to communicate and learn, which leads to understanding others and building relationships. Bilingualism, or the ability to speak two languages, has been shown to indicate the effects of neuroplasticity; the age of acquisition affects skill levels of language (Berken et al. 2017). The younger one is, the more likely their brains are able to be shaped by language experience, and there are functional and structural differences in the brain that are accumulated due to age of acquisition (Berken et al. 2017). Bilingualism has shown these brain differences to be evidence of the neuroplasticity of the brain, bringing into question how the brain can be shaped through experience and molded across age (Berken et al. 2017).

Bilingualism has shown increased gray matter in adults, as a result of skill acquisition, and something even more interesting is that speaking more than one language may contribute to a delay in cognitive symptoms in individuals with Alzheimer disease, or AD (Duncan et al. 2018). Not only is the brain changing due to language acquisition, but it may even extend that change into how it relates to neurological disorders. This increased gray matter is found in language and cognitive control areas, or LLC, and this increase providence evidence that proficiency in multiple languages may correlate to supporting memory function and contributing to the delay in AD symptoms (Duncan et al. 2018).

As we get older, we make changes to the way we speak: we add “ums” and “uhs” in daily conversation, which is a result of, essentially, becoming elderly (Dana Foundation, 2018). Syntax becomes less complex, and this may be due to failure of memory retrieval; with patients who experience AD, these language impairments become far worse; some may experience difficulty finding the correct words when speaking or may have writing errors because memory problems (Dana Foundation, 2018).

Patients with AD have speaking and language difficulties, which relates to the brain’s neuroplasticity and age. If our brains become “less plastic” with age due to acquiring more skill and solidifying brain regions correlating to that skill, then what is it about speaking multiple languages that may be able to help alleviate AD symptoms? What is the difference between bilingualism and speaking more than two languages that contributes to that divide in alleviation of AD symptoms? Is it the idea that those who have acquired multi-language ability earlier in life have brains more plastic than those who have not; therefore, if those with multi-language ability acquire AD, a memory loss disorder, they have less symptoms because of contributing neuroplasticity? This makes me think of other neurological affected by age, like Parkinson’s—although a motor disorder, the brain is complex and everything intermingles—I wonder how treatment for neurological disorders could be developed in relation to language acquisition. I wonder what the future of AD research and language could extend to, and how this may benefit treatment development of other disorders. Language is a learned behavior, one taught due to repetitive practice and constant exposure of it, which solidifies it in one’s memory—even if one does not speak a language they grew up learning, they have an easier time relearning that language than one not predisposed to it and may even still understand while not being able to speak it. I wonder if predisposition of another language could be extended to the things like the American education system in order to help combat increasing rates of neurological memory disorders. If there’s a link between acquiring multiple languages and alleviation of AD symptoms, then who’s to say that alleviation of symptoms couldn’t extend to other types of disorders? If children are taught another language in schools and this becomes normative, would there then be a decline in memory loss disorders in general? Who knows what the future holds—with flying cars and living in a simulation, it just may be a possibility.

Berken, J.A., Gracco, V. L., & Klein, D. (2017). Early bilingualism, language attainment, and brain development. Neurospcyholgia. (98). 220-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.08.031

Duncan, H.D., Nikelski, J., Pilon, R., Steffener, J., Chertkow, H., & Phillips, N. A. (2018). Structural brain differences between monolingual and multilingual patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: Evidence for cognitive reserve. Neuropsychologia. (109) 270-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.12.036 

The Dana Foundation. (2018). The Language of Dementia. https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/language/2018/the-language-of-dementia-072418