ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2020
Brain Structure in Bilingual Compared to Monolingual Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease: Proof of Concept.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- FastSurfer-Based Brain Morphometry and Machine-Learning Classification Across the Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Cognitive and brain reserve in bilingual speakers with clinical AD variants.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- The role of bilingualism on functional decline and neurodegeneration in distinct ADRD clinical syndromes.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Heterogeneity in cognitive profiles of monolingual and bilingual Hispanic/Latino older adults in HABS-HD.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2024Article
- Handgrip Strength Is Related to Hippocampal and Lobar Brain Volumes in a Cohort of Cognitively Impaired Older Adults with Confirmed Amyloid Burden.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBilingualism is increasingly recognized as protective in persons at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD).
objectiveCompare MRI measured brain volumes in matched bilinguals versus monolinguals with AD.
methodsThis IRB approved study analyzed T1 volumetric brain MRIs of patients with criteria-supported Probable AD. We identified 17 sequential bilinguals (any native language) with Probable AD, matched to 28 (62%) monolinguals on age and MMSE. Brain volumes were quantified with Neuroreader. Regional volumes as fraction of total intracranial volume (TIV) were compared between both groups, and Cohen's D effect sizes were calculated for statistically significant structures. Partial correlations between bilingualism and brain volumes adjusted for age, gender, and TIV.
resultsBilinguals had higher brain volumes in 37 structures. Statistical significance (p < 0.05) was observed in brainstem (t = 2.33, p = 0.02, Cohen's D = 0.71) and ventral diencephalon (t = 3.01, p = 0.004, Cohen's D = 0.91). Partial correlations showed statistical significance between bilingualism and larger volumes in brainstem (rp = 0 . 37, p = 0.01), thalamus (rp = 0.31, p = 0.04), ventral diencephalon (rp = 0.50, p = 0.001), and pallidum (rp = 0.38, p = 0.01). Bilingualism positively correlated with hippocampal volume, though not statistically significant (rp = 0.17, p = 0.26). No brain volumes were larger in monolinguals.
conclusionBilinguals demonstrated larger thalamic, ventral diencephalon, and brainstem volumes compared to matched monolinguals with AD. This may represent a neural substrate for increased cognitive reserve in bilingualism. Future studies should extrapolate this finding into cognitively normal persons at risk for AD.
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