The unique role of bilingualism among cognitive reserve-enhancing factors

Abstract

The umbrella term cognitive reserve-enhancing factors refers to those experiential and lifestyle factors (such as intellectual activities, regular physical exercise, healthy nutrition, educational attainment, etc.) that may help individuals to compensate for age-related neural deterioration, thus enabling them to maintain relatively stable cognitive functioning during senescence. In the last 10 years, mounting evidence has shown that speaking a second language is a powerful cognitive reserve contributor, which could mitigate the consequences of healthy aging and contribute to the delay of dementia onset. In this piece, we argue that bilingualism may play a unique role among the well-known cognitive reserve-enhancing factors, thus contributing to the achievement of successful aging in a distinctive fashion. After reviewing behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for bilingualism-induced protection against healthy and pathological cognitive aging, we discuss theoretical reasons and experimental findings supporting the view that bilingualism should be granted an individual spot among reserve-enhancing life experiences.