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发帖数: 20 | 1 文中说，越熟练越好！GO 同志们
Speaking 2 languages may delay getting Alzheimer's
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
WASHINGTON — Mastering a second language can pump up your brain in ways
that seem to delay getting Alzheimer's disease, scientists said Friday.
Never learned to habla or parlez? While the new research focuses mostly on
the truly long-term bilingual, scientists say even people who tackle a new
language later in life stand to gain.
The more proficient you become, the better, but "every little bit helps,"
said Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University in Toronto.
Much of the study of bilingualism has centered on babies, as scientists
wondered why simply speaking to infants in two languages allows them to
learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. Their brains seem
to become more flexible, better able to multitask. As they grow up, their
brains show better "executive control," a system key to higher functioning;
as Bialystok puts it, "the most important part of your mind."
But does that mental juggling while you're young translate into protection
against cognitive decline when you're old?
Bialystok studied 450 Alzheimer's patients, all of whom showed the same
degree of impairment at the time of diagnosis. Half are bilingual; they've
spoken two languages regularly for most of their lives. The rest are
monolingual.
The bilingual patients had Alzheimer's symptoms and were diagnosed between
four and five years later than the patients who spoke only one language, she
told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science.
Being bilingual does nothing to prevent Alzheimer's disease from striking.
But once the disease begins its silent attack, those years of robust
executive control provide a buffer so symptoms don't become apparent as
quickly, Bialystok said.
Her work supports an earlier study from other researchers that also found a
protective effect.
People don't have to master a new language to benefit some, Bialystok said.
Exercising your brain throughout life contributes to what's called cognitive
reserve, the overall ability to withstand the declines of aging and disease
. That's the basis of the use-it-or-lose-it advice from experts on aging who
also recommend such things as crossword puzzles to keep your brain nimble.
"If you start to learn at 40, 50, 60, you are certainly keeping your brain
active," she said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2014271511_languag |
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