Browsing by Author "Huuskonen, Milla"

This thesis explores how bilinguals process and represent language in the brain and discusses evidence of the way in which bilingualism alters neural and cognitive processing in non-linguistic tasks. The processing and representation of different languages in the brain appears to be shared, with processing converging when adequate fluency is reached in a non-native language. Both neural and behavioural evidence indicates that the need for bilinguals to navigate and control multiple languages places increased demands on systems of executive control. This may explain the bilingual advantage over monolingual individuals often observed in non-linguistic tasks recruiting executive functions. Furthermore, patient record studies comparing bilingual and monolingual older adults indicate bilingualism may preserve neural and cognitive functioning, leading to delayed symptom onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Current literature varies in the kind and extent to which bilingual advantage is observed, and not all studies have found bilingual advantage in executive functioning and cognitive reserve. Further research could clarify the exact causal mechanisms of bilingual advantage, for example through comparing different kinds of bilingual populations to isolate circumstances in which executive and neuroprotective advantage occurs. This is also crucial for any potential clinical or educational applications based on the presented research to be effective.