Learning four languages may keep the brain young, study finds

A study presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum has found that learning multiple languages can significantly delay brain aging.

According to results published by Science Daily, people who speak more than one language have brains that appear younger than their actual age, with the effect most pronounced among those who began learning new languages early and achieved high proficiency.

The research was presented by Dr. Lucia Amoruso from the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastian, Spain, in collaboration with researchers from the Latin American Brain Health Institute at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of San Andrés in Argentina, and the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

The study focused on residents of Spain's Basque region, where people speak between one and four languages, including Spanish, Basque, French, and English.

Researchers examined 728 individuals and developed a 'brain aging clock' using magnetoencephalography, then applied artificial intelligence to analyze brain activity patterns and estimate brain age.

When comparing participants' actual ages to their estimated brain ages, the researchers found that bilingual individuals had brains about six years younger than monolinguals, the difference increased to seven years for those who spoke three languages, and reached 13 years for those fluent in four languages.

Amoruso noted that high language proficiency and acquiring a second language at an early age are linked to delayed brain aging, emphasizing that multilingual experience gradually supports brain resilience.

The team plans to investigate the impact of multilingualism on people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, and to explore whether speaking closely related languages enhances this effect.