RT Journal Article
T1 Enhancement of posterior brain functional networks in bilingual older adults
A1 De Frutos Lucas, Jaisalmer
A1 López Sanz, David
A1 Cuesta Prieto, Pablo
A1 Bruña Fernández, Ricardo
A1 Fuente, Sofía de la
A1 Serrano Martínez, Noelia
A1 López García, María Eugenia
A1 Delgado Losada, María Luisa
A1 López Sánchez, Ramón
A1 Marcos Dolado, Alberto
A1 Maestu Unturbe, Fernando
AB Bilingualism has been said to improve cognition and even delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This research aimed to investigate whether bilingualism leaves a neurophysiological trace even when people are highly educated. We expected bilinguals to present better preserved brain functional networks, which could be a trace of higher cognitive reserve. With this purpose, we conducted a magnetoencephalographic study with a group of healthy older adults. We estimated functional connectivity using phase-locking value and found five clusters in parieto-occipital regions in which bilinguals exhibited greater functional connectivity than monolinguals. These clusters included brain regions typically implicated in language processing. Furthermore, these functional changes correlated with caudate volumes (a key region in language shifting and control) in the bilingual sample. Interestingly, decreased Functional Connectivity between posterior brain regions had already been identified as an indicator of aging/preclinical AD but, according to our study, bilingualism seems to exert the opposite effect.
PB Cambridge University Press
SN 1366-7289
SN 1469-1841
YR 2019
FD 2019-04-26
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/102350
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/102350
LA eng
NO de Frutos-Lucas, J., López-Sanz, D., Cuesta, P., Bruña, R., de la Fuente, S., Serrano, N., López García, M, E., Delgado-Losada, M. L., López-Higes, R., Marcos, A., & Maestú, F. (2020). Enhancement of posterior brain functional networks in bilingual older adults. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(2), 387-400.
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 11 abr 2025