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Cognitive and brain reserve in bilinguals: field overview and explanatory mechanisms

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Abstract

There is an ongoing debate on potential neuroprotective effects of bilingualism against cognitive decline during healthy aging. In this paper, we consider the neural and cognitive mechanisms through which these protective effects may operate. We review the evidence suggesting that bilingualism can act as a booster of neuroplasticity and/or as a brain protection mechanism providing effective compensation. Our main aim is to better define the linkage between reserve and lifetime bilingual experience and their effects on the mind and brain. We first illustrate the concept of reserve and contextualize existing results of bilingualism research within the reserve framework. Then, we discuss how bilingualism-induced enhancements of certain cognitive functions may constitute the basis for the neural underpinnings of reserve, i.e., brain reserve (BR) and cognitive reserve (CR). Finally, we discuss how the interplay between BR and CR fostered by multiple language use can provide protection to the aging brain.

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Acknowledgements

The present study was supported by Russian Science Foundation Grant (project №19-18-00550) to the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

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  1. Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Krivokolenniy Pereulok 3, Entrance 2, 101000, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Federico Gallo, Andriy Myachykov & Yury Shtyrov

  2. Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics (CNPL), Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy

    Federico Gallo & Jubin Abutalebi

  3. Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Northumberland Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK

    Andriy Myachykov

  4. Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Institute for Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, bldg 1A, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark

    Yury Shtyrov

  5. AcqVA Aurora Centre, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Jubin Abutalebi

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  1. Federico Gallo
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Gallo, F., Myachykov, A., Shtyrov, Y. et al. Cognitive and brain reserve in bilinguals: field overview and explanatory mechanisms. J Cult Cogn Sci 4, 127–143 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-020-00058-1

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