- With Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's disease specialist
Ronald Petersen, M.D.
Risk factors (2)
- Oophorectomy (ovary removal): A risk factor for dementia?
- Alzheimer's: Can a head injury increase my risk?
Symptoms (1)
- Sundowning: Late-day confusion
Tests and diagnosis (2)
- Rapidly progressing Alzheimer's: Something else?
- Alzheimer's test: Detection at the earliest stages
Complications (1)
- Phantosmia: What causes olfactory hallucinations?
Treatments and drugs (3)
- Vitamin B-12: Can it improve memory in Alzheimer's?
- Folic acid supplements: Can they slow cognitive decline?
- Alzheimer's nose spray: New Alzheimer's treatment?
Lifestyle and home remedies (2)
- Alzheimer's: Can a Mediterranean diet lower my risk?
- Music and Alzheimer's: Can it help?
Alternative medicine (5)
- Vitamin B-12: Can it improve memory in Alzheimer's?
- Phosphatidylserine supplements: Can they improve memory?
- Ginkgo biloba: Can it prevent memory loss?
- see all in Alternative medicine
Coping and support (1)
- Elder care for Alzheimer's: Choosing a provider
Prevention (3)
- Alzheimer's disease: Can exercise prevent memory loss?
- Alzheimer's prevention: Does it exist?
- Benefits of being bilingual: Delay Alzheimer's?
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Question
Benefits of being bilingual: Delay Alzheimer's?
I've heard that learning a second language can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Is this true?
Answer
from Ronald Petersen, M.D.
There may be benefits of being bilingual. Several studies have shown that if you know two or more languages — and you've been diagnosed as likely to develop Alzheimer's — you may experience a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms. Researchers believe being bilingual or multilingual helps develop your brain's "cognitive reserve" in the same way that engaging in other mentally and socially stimulating activities does.
More research is needed before it's completely understood how cognitive reserve works to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It's thought that activities that develop cognitive reserve work because they increase the robustness of your brain's architecture — enriching blood flow, enhancing neuronal activity and putting more of your brain to use. This may compensate for the loss of diseased parts of the brain.
Engaging in a variety of activities, especially those promoting mental and social stimulation, may help people at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia slow or delay its onset. And if you're interested in learning another language, go for it. However, more research is needed before it's known whether learning a second language later in life has the same protective effect as might a lifetime of speaking a second language.
Next questionOophorectomy (ovary removal): A risk factor for dementia?
- Bialystok E, et al. Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia. Neuropsychologia. 2007;45:459.
- Chertkow H, et al. Multilingualism (but not always bilingualism) delays the onset of Alzheimer disease: Evidence from a bilingual community. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. 2010;24:118.
- Craik FIM, et al. Delaying the onset of Alzheimer disease: Bilingualism as a form of cognitive reserve. Neurology. 2010;75:1726.
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