Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
Bilingualism's protective effects in Alzheimer's disease: Mechanisms of resilience and resistance
Wenfu Bao1, Stephanie M Grasso1, Isabel Sala2,3
1Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
Introduction:
Bilingualism is among several lifestyle factors associated with protection against cognitive decline, yet the biological mechanisms through which it exerts these effects remain poorly understood.
Methods:
We compared neuropsychological functioning and biofluid markers of brain health between active (n = 280) and passive (n = 287) Spanish-Catalan bilinguals with biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Results:
Active bilinguals outperformed passive bilinguals on tests assessing attention/executive functions, language, and visuospatial/visuomotor functioning, demonstrating resilience given the same AD biological stage across participants. Active bilinguals also exhibited significant differences in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma biomarkers of amyloid burden and neuroinflammation, suggesting both resilience and resistance to AD pathophysiologic mechanisms.
Discussion:
The protective effects of bilingual experience may engage both resilience and resistance to AD pathophysiology mechanisms. These results underscore the importance of capturing bilingualism in aging cohorts and the study of how lifestyle and sociocultural factors shape the biological expression of neurodegenerative disease.
More Related Videos
06:48Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
06:58Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Neuroplasticity
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia