Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29658987›Full record

ArticleEpilepsia2018

Does bilingualism increase brain or cognitive reserve in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy?

Anny Reyes, Brianna M Paul, Anisa Marshall, Yu-Hsuan A Chang, Naeim Bahrami, Leena Kansal, Vicente J Iragui, Evelyn S Tecoma, Tamar H Gollan, Carrie R McDonald

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsia, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Dynamic neuroplasticity of language networks: The intersection of bilingualism and epilepsy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Anny ReyesSan Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
Brianna M PaulDepartment of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Anisa MarshallCenter for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Yu-Hsuan A ChangCenter for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Naeim BahramiCenter for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Leena KansalUniversity of California, San Diego Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
Vicente J IraguiUniversity of California, San Diego Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
Evelyn S TecomaUniversity of California, San Diego Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
Tamar H GollanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
Carrie R McDonaldSan Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
University of California, San Diego · USUniversity of California System · USUniversity of California, San Francisco · US

Funding

Multimodal Imaging of Language in the Preoperative Evaluation of EpilepsyR01NS065838 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI MCDONALD, CARRIE R · 2010 to 2018
$4.4M
NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS065838
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveBilingual healthy adults have been shown to exhibit an advantage in executive functioning (EF) that is associated with microstructural changes in white matter (WM) networks. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) often show EF deficits that are associated with WM compromise. In this study, we investigate whether bilingualism can increase cognitive reserve and/or brain reserve in bilingual patients with TLE, mitigating EF impairment and WM compromise.

methodsDiffusion tensor imaging was obtained in 19 bilingual and 26 monolingual patients with TLE, 12 bilingual healthy controls (HC), and 21 monolingual HC. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were calculated for the uncinate fasciculus (Unc) and cingulum (Cing), superior frontostriatal tract (SFS), and inferior frontostriatal tract (IFS). Measures of EF included Trail Making Test-B (TMT-B) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Color-Word Inhibition/Switching. Analyses of covariance were conducted to compare FA and MD of the Unc, Cing, SFS, and IFS and EF performance across groups.

resultsIn bilingual patients, FA was lower in the ipsilateral Cing and Unc compared to all other groups. For both patient groups, MD of the ipsilateral Unc was higher relative to HC. Despite more pronounced reductions in WM integrity, bilingual patients performed similarly to monolingual TLE and both HC groups on EF measures. By contrast, monolingual patients performed worse than HC on TMT-B. In addition, differences in group means between bilingual and monolingual patients on TMT-B approached significance when controlling for the extent of WM damage (P = .071; d = 0.62), suggesting a tendency toward higher performance for bilingual patients. SIGNIFICANCE: Despite poorer integrity of regional frontal lobe WM, bilingual patients performed similarly to monolingual patients and HC on EF measures. These findings align with studies suggesting that bilingualism may provide a protective factor for individuals with neurological disease, potentially through reorganization of EF networks that promote greater cognitive reserve.

Indexed as

Epilepsy, Temporal LobeExecutive FunctionMultilingualismAdultBrainCognitive ReserveDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleHumansMaleNeuropsychological Testsbilingualismbrain functiondiffusion tensorexecutive functionwhite matter integrity

Identifiers

PMID29658987
PMCPMC7315382
OpenAlexW2800219275

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.