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Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults.

ABSTRACT: The protective effects of multiple language knowledge on the maintenance of cognitive functions in older adults have been discussed controversially, among others, because of methodological inconsistencies between studies. In a sample of N = 528 German monolinguals and multilinguals (speaking two or more languages) older than 60 years, this study examined (1) whether speaking multiple languages is positively related to performance on tasks of interference suppression, working memory, concept shifting, and phonemic and semantic fluency, and (2) whether language proficiency and age of second language acquisition (AoA) are associated with cognitive performance of multilinguals. Controlling for education and daily activity, we found small cognitive benefits of speaking multiple languages on interference suppression, working memory, and phonemic fluency, but not on concept shifting and semantic fluency. Furthermore, no substantive correlations were found between language proficiency or AoA and cognitive performance. In conclusion, multilingualism appears to have small incremental effects on cognitive performance beyond education and daily activity in older age that are task-specific and widely independent of proficiency and AoA.

SUBMITTER: Achaa-Amankwaa P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10560281 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults.

Achaa-Amankwaa Priscilla P Kushnereva Ekaterina E Miksch Hanna H Stumme Johanna J Heim Stefan S Ebersbach Mirjam M

Scientific reports 20231007 1

The protective effects of multiple language knowledge on the maintenance of cognitive functions in older adults have been discussed controversially, among others, because of methodological inconsistencies between studies. In a sample of N = 528 German monolinguals and multilinguals (speaking two or more languages) older than 60 years, this study examined (1) whether speaking multiple languages is positively related to performance on tasks of interference suppression, working memory, concept shif ...[more]

PMID: 37805638

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Project description:IntroductionThe use of dual-task model such as dual-task gait has been extensively studied to assess cognitive-motor performance among older adults. However, space restriction and safety factor limit its applications in remote assessment. To address the gap, we propose a video processing-based approach to remotely quantify cognitive-motor performance using a 20-s repetitive elbow flexion-extension test with dual-task condition, called video-based motoric-cognitive meter (MCM).MethodsEighteen older participants (age: 78.6 ± 6.5 years) who were clinically diagnosed as having either mild cognitive impairment or dementia were included in this study. Participants were asked to perform 20-s repetitive elbow flexion-extension exercise with a memory exercise by counting backward from a two-digit number. During the test, all movements of the forearm were recorded by a video camera. As a comparator, a validated wrist-worn sensor was used, which allowed quantifying upper extremity kinematics.ResultsThe results showed a good agreement (r ≥ 0.530 and ICC2,1 ≥ 0.681) between the derived dual-task upper extremity motor performance from the proposed video-based MCM and a clinically validated sensor-based MCM. We also observed moderate correlations (r ≥ 0.496) between some measures of video-based MCM (flexion time, extension time, and flexion-extension time) and clinical cognitive scale (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]). Additionally, some measures of dual-task upper extremity motor performance (speed, flexion time, extension time, and flexion-extension time) were associated with dual-task gait speed (r ≥ 0.557), which has been found to be correlated with cognitive impairment. Lastly, the selected dual-task motor performance metric (flexion time) was sensitive to predict MMSE scores in linear regression analyses with statistical significance (adjusted R2 = 0.306, p = 0.025).ConclusionThis study proposes a video processing-based approach to analyze dual-task upper extremity motor performance from a simple and convenient upper extremity function test. The results indicate concurrent validity of the proposed video-based MCM compared with the sensor-based MCM, and associations between dual-task upper extremity motor performance and clinically validated cognitive markers (MMSE scores and dual-task gait). Future studies are warranted to explore sensitivity of this solution to promote remote assessment of cognitive-motor performance among older adults in telehealth applications.

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Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults.

Publications

Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults.

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