Hernandez, V. A Bilingual Mind: Thanks for the Memories
Bilingualism appears to have certain advantages across the lifespan of human beings. In one study, infants of bilingual parents demonstrated a greater ability to anticipate changes in external stimuli compared to infants of monolingual parents. This seems to indicate an earlier development of the executive function in bilinguals in the first stages of life. When monolingual and bilingual participants were tested using the Stroop test, bilingual participants showed a greater ability to overcome interference from contradictory information. Most significantly, bilingualism seems to contribute to slowing down the onset of dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Strong evidence
