TY - JOUR
T1 - Linking early-life bilingualism and cognitive advantage in older adulthood
AU - DELCODE study group
AU - Ballarini, Tommaso
AU - Kuhn, Elizabeth
AU - Röske, Sandra
AU - Altenstein, Slawek
AU - Bartels, Claudia
AU - Buchholz, Friederike
AU - Buerger, Katharina
AU - Dechent, Peter
AU - Dobisch, Laura
AU - Ewers, Michael
AU - Fliessbach, Klaus
AU - Freiesleben, Silka Dawn
AU - Frommann, Ingo
AU - Gabelin, Tatjana
AU - Glanz, Wenzel
AU - Görß, Doreen
AU - Haynes, John Dylan
AU - Incesoy, Enise I.
AU - Janowitz, Daniel
AU - Kilimann, Ingo
AU - Kleineidam, Luca
AU - Kobeleva, Xenia
AU - Laske, Christoph
AU - Lohse, Andrea
AU - Maier, Franziska
AU - Munk, Matthias H.
AU - Perneczky, Robert
AU - Peters, Oliver
AU - Priller, Josef
AU - Rauchmann, Boris Stephan
AU - Roy, Nina
AU - Scheffler, Klaus
AU - Schneider, Anja
AU - Schott, Björn H.
AU - Spottke, Annika
AU - Spruth, Eike Jakob
AU - Teipel, Stefan
AU - Wiltfang, Jens
AU - Wolfsgruber, Steffen
AU - Düzel, Emrah
AU - Jessen, Frank
AU - Wagner, Michael
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Previous studies have identified bilingualism as a protective factor against dementia. Here we aimed to test whether being bilingual at different life stages impacts cognition and brain structure in older adulthood. We included 746 participants from the DZNE-Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study (DELCODE). Assessment of bilingualism at 3 life stages (early: 13–30, middle: 30–65 and late: over 65 years old) was determined with the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire. Individuals reporting bilingualism (i.e., daily use of L2) in the early life stage outperformed monolinguals on learning & memory, working-memory, executive functions and language. Bilingualism in middle life stage showed a significant advantage on learning & memory, while no effect of bilingualism in old life stage was identified. Brain gray matter volume was not associated with L2 use and did not differ between groups. However, stronger correlations between brain gray matter volume in selected brain regions and cognitive performance were found in bilingual participants in the early and middle life stages. Our results indicate that bilingualism in early life might provide a long-lasting protective effect on cognition and shape the brain to sustain cognitive performance in older adulthood.
AB - Previous studies have identified bilingualism as a protective factor against dementia. Here we aimed to test whether being bilingual at different life stages impacts cognition and brain structure in older adulthood. We included 746 participants from the DZNE-Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study (DELCODE). Assessment of bilingualism at 3 life stages (early: 13–30, middle: 30–65 and late: over 65 years old) was determined with the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire. Individuals reporting bilingualism (i.e., daily use of L2) in the early life stage outperformed monolinguals on learning & memory, working-memory, executive functions and language. Bilingualism in middle life stage showed a significant advantage on learning & memory, while no effect of bilingualism in old life stage was identified. Brain gray matter volume was not associated with L2 use and did not differ between groups. However, stronger correlations between brain gray matter volume in selected brain regions and cognitive performance were found in bilingual participants in the early and middle life stages. Our results indicate that bilingualism in early life might provide a long-lasting protective effect on cognition and shape the brain to sustain cognitive performance in older adulthood.
KW - Aging
KW - Bilingualism
KW - Brain structure
KW - Neuropsychology
KW - Voxel-based-morphometry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146852793&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.12.005
DO - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.12.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 36706574
AN - SCOPUS:85146852793
SN - 0197-4580
VL - 124
SP - 18
EP - 28
JO - Neurobiology of Aging
JF - Neurobiology of Aging
ER -