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Part of
Growing Old with Two Languages: Effects of Bilingualism on Cognitive Aging
Edited by Ellen Bialystok and Margot D. Sullivan
[Studies in Bilingualism 53] 2017
► pp. 219–242

Chapter 11
Bilingualism, cognitive reserve, aging, and dementia

What is the new ground to cover?

| Concordia University
| Concordia University
| Concordia University | McGill University | Bloomfield Centre for Research in Aging, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montréal, Québec

Research investigating the contribution of bilingualism to cognitive reserve has produced mixed findings. Previous reviews and commentaries have explored potential reasons for the inconsistent findings across studies, including language status, participant characteristics, and immigration-related variables. This chapter addresses several questions that have received relatively less attention. Specifically, in this chapter we aim to clarify the relationship between brain function and structure within a reserve framework (including data from our lab examining regional cortical thickness in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease). We also review the impact of bilingualism on memory functioning, and examine theoretical and practical issues (such as trajectory of change in cognitive function) surrounding the cognitive reserve hypothesis. We end by discussing the potential for -and practicalities of- using Big Data initiatives to contribute insight into the role of bilingualism in cognitive reserve and brain function.

Keywords: bilingualism, multilingualism, cognitive reserve, brain reserve, trajectory of change, Alzheimer disease, mild cognitive impairment
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Defining Reserve
    • Cognitive reserve
    • Brain reserve
    • Distinguishing between cognitive reserve and brain reserve
    • Evidence for bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve
    • Evidence for bilingualism as a contributor to brain reserve
    • The relationship between cognitive reserve and brain reserve in bilinguals
  • Part II
    • Bilingualism and memory performance
    • Bilingualism and memory brain networks
  • Part III
    • Theoretical and practical issues of CR
      • Bilingualism as a contributor to CR
      • Does bilingualism affect the rate of cognitive decline?
      • The point of inflection revisited
      • Future directions for research on bilingualism, cognitive reserve, and the trajectory of cognitive decline
  • Author queries
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 7 August 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.53.11cha
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