ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2023
Musical and Multilingual Experience Are Related to Healthy Aging: Better Some Than None But Even Better Together.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Do cognitive reserve proxies capture a common neural signature? A systematic review and meta-analysis of task-based fMRI studies.Psychoradiology · 2026Review
- Selective cognitive effects of multilingualism emerge in visuospatial working memory in later life.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Association Between Multilingual Experience Factors and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults: A Lifelines Study.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Cognitive resilience/reserve: Myth or reality? A review of definitions and measurement methods.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
objectivesLife experiences that are complex, sustained, and intense, such as active participation in music and speaking multiple languages, have been suggested to contribute to maintaining or improving cognitive performance and mental health. The current study focuses on whether lifetime musical and multilingual experiences differentially relate to cognition and well-being in older adults, and tests whether there is a cumulative effect of both experiences.
methodsA total of 11,335 older adults from the population-based Lifelines Cohort Study completed a musical and multilingual background and experience questionnaire. Latent class analysis was used to categorize individuals into subgroups according to their various musical and multilingual experiences resulting in a (1) nonmusical, low-multilingual group; (2) nonmusical, high-multilingual group; (3) musical, low-multilingual group; and (4) musical high-multilingual group. To determine whether the groups differed in terms of cognition or emotional affect, differences in Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scores were investigated by means of multinomial logistic regression analysis.
resultsHaving high-multilingual, and not musical, experience was related to better RFFT performance compared to no experience, but not to more positive affect. Having both musical and high-multilingual experiences is related to better RFFT performance and more positive affect in advanced age compared to having only one experience or none. Importantly, these results were found independently of age, level of education, and socioeconomic status. DISCUSSION: Musical and multilingual experiences are related to healthy aging, especially when combined, which supports the suggestion that a broader spectrum of lifetime experiences relates to cognitive reserve.
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