Study: Mastering more languages tends to slow brain ageing
Mastering more than one language is linked to a slower brain ageing process, according to a recent study involving hundreds of people in Spain.
The research found that bilingual individuals possessed brain activity that appeared approximately six years younger than those who use only one language. For those proficient in three languages, the difference reached about seven years, while those mastering four languages showed brain activity appearing up to 13 years younger.
Quoting the Real Simple website on Friday (18/9) local time, the study presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) forum involved 728 people from the Basque region of Spain, who mastered up to four languages.
Researchers used tools capable of recording brain cell activity to observe activity patterns in participants. This data was then used to estimate ‘brain age’.
Lucia Amoruso, head of the research group from the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastián, stated that the experience of using multiple languages has a gradual influence. This means the benefits are related to whether a person can speak two languages, as well as how long and how well those languages are used.
Researchers also noted that lifestyle habits and social activities can affect brain health. Therefore, the results of this study should not be interpreted as meaning that language proficiency is the sole cause of a slower brain ageing process.
Further research will examine whether specific combinations of languages have different effects on brain activity. Researchers also aim to understand how the ability to switch from one language to another relates to brain function.
Professor Christina Dalla from the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, who was not involved in the study, stated that learning other languages offers benefits in social, cultural, and brain health aspects.
These findings add to the growing body of research regarding the relationship between multilingualism and brain health throughout life.