Bilingualism: Pathway to Cognitive Reserve
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Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
1Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3.
Abstract:
Cognitive reserve is characterized by a dissociation between cognitive level and brain structure, thereby reducing the impact of deteriorating brain structure on cognitive function. Cognitive reserve is therefore a promising approach to maintaining cognitive function and protecting against symptoms of dementia. The present paper evaluates evidence supporting the claim that bilingualism contributes to cognitive reserve. Four types of evidence are presented: (i) brain and cognitive function in healthy aging, (ii) age of onset of symptoms of dementia, (iii) relation between clinical level and neuropathology for patients, and (iv) rate of cognitive decline in later stages of dementia. In all cases, bilinguals revealed patterns that were consistent with the interpretation of protection from cognitive reserve when compared with monolinguals.
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