Learning a second tongue can keep brain sharp in old age as per a study

Updated on: Friday, January 11, 2013

Researchers from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine found senior citizens who have spoken two languages since childhood are faster at switching from one task to another than those who only know one.

MRI scans revealed that lifelong bilinguals appeared to be using their brains more efficiently, which increased their speed, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The findings confirm the value of regular stimulating mental activity throughout life. As people age, cognitive flexibility - the ability to adapt to unfamiliar or unexpected circumstances - and related 'executive' brain functions decline.

Recent studies suggest this decline could be stemmed by speaking more than one language - a boost that may stem from the experience of constantly switching between languages.

The latest study revealed how the number of tongues you speak affects brain activity. A team led by Dr Brian Gold from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine used MRI scans to compare brain activity of healthy 60 to 68-year-olds while they completed mentally challenging tasks.

The first task asked participants to identify if a shape was a circle or a square. The second to identify if an object was red or blue and the third task combined the first two.

They found that both monolingual and bilingual seniors performed the task accurately. However, those who spoke two languages or more were faster at completing the third task despite expending less energy in the frontal cortex - an area known to be involved in task switching.

"This suggests that bilingual seniors use their brains more efficiently than monolingual seniors," Gold added. "Together, these results suggest that lifelong bilingualism may exert its strongest benefits on the functioning of frontal brain regions in ageing," Gold said.

The study compared people who spoke one or two languages from childhood. The team said further research was needed to see if learning another tongue later in life could be as beneficial.

The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Learning a second tongue can keep brain sharp in old age as per a study

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