It has been suggested that those who are bilingual, or know a know a foreign language are more likely of recovering brain functions after a stroke. This study was published in the journal Stroke.
Learning a foreign language from the age of 80 could also reinforce the “cognitive reserve” that aids them in coping with brain damage.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh found that being bilingual could increase the chances of a stroke patient keeping their cognitive function unimpaired. Those who learned another language at a later stage seemed to be doing even better.
Dr Thomas Bak, one of the lead researchers, along with his colleagues had analysed the record of 608 stroke patients in Hyderabad, India, where an estimated two thirds of the population speak two or more languages.
The researchers found that 41% of those who were bilingual had their mental functions intact, while it was only 20% for those who spoke only one language.
However, those who spoke one language as well as those who were multilingual were both equally likely to suffer from the condition known as aphasia (when the patient loses the ability to speak).
Dr Bak said, “What people have found is that there is not a one-on-one correspondence between what we see in neural imaging and what we see in real life. If you have two people who have the same level of atrophy because of dementia- the same loss of neurons- in an MRI scanner, one might be much better in terms of mental function than the other.”
He added, “People who are very active, do physical exercise, but also do a lot of mental activity tend to perform better, so if your body and mind are active you're able to cope better with potential damage that diseases can bring... In fact, we found bigger effects in people who were older than in people who were younger.”
