Learning Multiple Languages Could Reduce Dementia Risks, Study Finds

A study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease detailed the connection between multilingualism and dementia risk, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . The researchers examined 325 Roman Catholic nuns in the United States, including their brain health. They determined 6 percent of the nuns who spoke four or more languages developed dementia, versus 31 percent who spoke only one language. "Language is a complex ability of the human brain, and switching between different languages takes cognitive flexibility," said the University of Waterloo's Suzanne Tyas. "So it makes sense that the extra mental exercise multilinguals would get from speaking four or more languages might help their brains be in better shape than monolinguals." Assessments of the nuns' writing revealed that subjects who could best express their ideas on paper also had less dementia risk. "This study shows that while multilingualism may be important, we should also be looking further into other examples of linguistic ability," Tyas noted. "In addition, we need to know more about multilingualism and what aspects are important — such as the age when a language is first learned, how often each language is spoken, and how similar or different these languages are."