ReviewFrontiers in psychology2017
Uncovering the Mechanisms Responsible for Why Language Learning May Promote Healthy Cognitive Aging.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does Second Language Learning Promote Neuroplasticity in Aging? A Systematic Review of Cognitive and Neuroimaging Studies.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Current Research on the Impact of Foreign Language Learning Among Healthy Seniors on Their Cognitive Functions From a Positive Psychology Perspective-A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Pooled it
- Does Language Distance Modulate the Contribution of Bilingualism to Cognitive Reserve in Seniors? A Systematic Review.American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementiasPooled it
- Cognitive and Neural Preservation in Older Language Learners: The CNPOLL Framework.Journal of psycholinguistic research · 2026Review
- Language, Immigration, Race and Cognitive Health: Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) Study.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of an 18-month meditation training on dynamic functional connectivity states in older adults: Secondary analyses from the Age-Well randomized controlled trial.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Language Learning for People Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Feasibility and the Quality of Experience.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Examining the relation between bilingualism and age of symptom onset in frontotemporal dementia.Bilingualism (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Network relationship between cognitive function and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults: an observational study from Beijing.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- A Comparative Analysis of Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The influence of bilingualism on gray matter volume in the course of aging: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Article
- Intraoperative Brain Mapping in Multilingual Patients: What Do We Know and Where Are We Going?Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Global and localized network characteristics of the resting brain predict and adapt to foreign language learning in older adults.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties and Relationships With Memory Function in an Iranian Elderly Sample.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Foreign Language Learning in Older Adults: Anatomical and Cognitive Markers of Vocabulary Learning Success.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
- Predicting multilingual effects on executive function and individual connectomes in children: An ABCD study.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- Foreign Language Training to Stimulate Cognitive Functions.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
One of the great challenges facing humankind in the 21st century is preserving healthy brain function in our aging population. Individuals over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the world, and by 2050, it is estimated that the number of people over the age of 60 will triple. The typical aging process involves cognitive decline related to brain atrophy, especially in frontal brain areas and regions that subserve declarative memory, loss of synaptic connections, and the emergence of neuropathological symptoms associated with dementia. The disease-state of this age-related cognitive decline is Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, which may cause older adults to lose their independence and rely on others to live safely, burdening family members and health care systems in the process. However, there are two lines of research that offer hope to those seeking to promote healthy cognitive aging. First, it has been observed that lifestyle variables such as cognitive leisure activities can moderate the risk of Alzheimer's disease, which has led to the development of plasticity-based interventions for older adults designed to protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Second, there is evidence that lifelong bilingualism acts as a safeguard in preserving healthy brain function, possibly delaying the incidence of dementia by several years. In previous work, we have suggested that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. Here, we will outline potential future lines of research that may uncover the mechanism responsible for the emergence of language learning related brain advantages, such as language typology, bi- vs. multi-lingualism, age of acquisition, and the elements that are likely to result in the largest gains.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.