Bilingualism may improve memory later in life, study says

Speaking two languages provides the enviable ability to make friends in unusual places. A new study suggests that bilingualism may also come with another benefit: improved memory in later life.

Studying hundreds of older patients, researchers in Germany found those who reported using two languages daily from a young age scored higher on tests of learning, memory, language and self-control than patients who spoke only one language.

The findings, published in the April issue of the journal Neurobiology of Aging, add to two decades of work suggesting that bilingualism protects against dementia and cognitive decline in older people.

“It’s promising that they report that early and middle-life bilingualism has a beneficial effect on cognitive health in later life,” said Miguel Arce Rentería, a neuropsychologist at Columbia University who was not involved in the study. “This would line up with the existing literature.”

In recent years, scientists have gained a greater understanding of bilingualism and the aging brain, although not all their findings have aligned. Some have found that if people who have fluency in two languages develop dementia, they’ll develop it at a later age than people who speak one language. But other research has shown no clear benefit from bilingualism.

Neuroscientists hypothesize that because bilingual people switch fluidly between two languages, they may be able to deploy similar strategies in other skills — such as multitasking, managing emotions and self-control — that help delay dementia later on.

The new study tested 746 people age 59 to 76.

Roughly 40% of the volunteers had no memory problems, while the others were patients at memory clinics and had experienced confusion or memory loss.