Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University Jaume I, Castelló, Spain.
Center for Brain and Cognition, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
Brain Connect. 2021 Feb;11(1):30-37. doi: 10.1089/brain.2020.0877. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
Bilingualism is considered a cognitive reserve (CR) factor, due to the delay in the onset of dementia in bilinguals compared with monolinguals. Two neural mechanisms have been suggested to underlie CR: neural reserve and neural compensation. However, it is still unclear how bilingualism contributes to these mechanisms. In this study, we used cognitive tests, functional connectivity (FC), regional homogeneity, and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) measures to study resting-state brain patterns in a sample of bilingual and monolingual subjects with mild cognitive impairment. We found no significant differences between the groups in age, sex, education, or cognitive level, but bilinguals showed higher FC than monolinguals between the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus and the precuneus, positively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination scores, and higher fALFF in the thalamus bilaterally. Our results suggest that bilingualism may act as a CR factor that protects against dementia through neural compensation.
双语能力被认为是认知储备（CR）的一个因素，因为与单语者相比，双语者痴呆症的发病时间较晚。有两种神经机制被认为是 CR 的基础：神经储备和神经补偿。然而，双语能力如何促进这些机制仍然不清楚。在这项研究中，我们使用认知测试、功能连接（FC）、局部一致性和低频波动的分数幅度（fALFF）测量来研究轻度认知障碍的双语和单语受试者的静息态大脑模式。我们发现两组在年龄、性别、教育程度或认知水平方面没有显著差异，但双语者在颞上后叶的后部分与楔前叶之间的 FC 高于单语者，与简易精神状态检查分数呈正相关，并且双侧丘脑的 fALFF 较高。我们的结果表明，双语能力可能是一种 CR 因素，通过神经补偿来预防痴呆。
