Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function

Objective. Bilingualism has been shown to benefit executive function (EF) and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aims at examining whether a bilingual advantage applies to EF in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Method. In a cross-sectional outpatient cohort of monolingual English (n=57) and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John V. Hindle, Pamela A. Martin-Forbes, Alexandra J. M. Bastable, Kirstie L. Pye, Anthony Martyr, Christopher J. Whitaker, Fergus I. M. Craik, Ellen Bialystok, Enlli M. Thomas, Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole, Linda Clare
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/943572
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849693520369025024
author John V. Hindle
Pamela A. Martin-Forbes
Alexandra J. M. Bastable
Kirstie L. Pye
Anthony Martyr
Christopher J. Whitaker
Fergus I. M. Craik
Ellen Bialystok
Enlli M. Thomas
Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole
Linda Clare
author_facet John V. Hindle
Pamela A. Martin-Forbes
Alexandra J. M. Bastable
Kirstie L. Pye
Anthony Martyr
Christopher J. Whitaker
Fergus I. M. Craik
Ellen Bialystok
Enlli M. Thomas
Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole
Linda Clare
author_sort John V. Hindle
collection DOAJ
description Objective. Bilingualism has been shown to benefit executive function (EF) and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aims at examining whether a bilingual advantage applies to EF in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Method. In a cross-sectional outpatient cohort of monolingual English (n=57) and bilingual Welsh/English (n=46) speakers with PD we evaluated the effects of bilingualism compared with monolingualism on performance on EF tasks. In bilinguals we also assessed the effects of the degree of daily usage of each language and the degree of bilingualism. Results. Monolinguals showed an advantage in performance of language tests. There were no differences in performance of EF tests in monolinguals and bilinguals. Those who used Welsh less in daily life had better performance on one test of English vocabulary. The degree of bilingualism correlated with one test of nonverbal reasoning and one of working memory but with no other tests of EF. Discussion. The reasons why the expected benefit in EF in Welsh-English bilinguals with PD was not found require further study. Future studies in PD should include other language pairs, analysis of the effects of the degree of bilingualism, and longitudinal analysis of cognitive decline or dementia together with structural or functional neuroimaging.
format Article
id doaj-art-301c6a73672a44ba96cbf0a48574ac8d
institution DOAJ
issn 2090-8083
2042-0080
language English
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Parkinson's Disease
spelling doaj-art-301c6a73672a44ba96cbf0a48574ac8d2025-08-20T03:20:23ZengWileyParkinson's Disease2090-80832042-00802015-01-01201510.1155/2015/943572943572Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive FunctionJohn V. Hindle0Pamela A. Martin-Forbes1Alexandra J. M. Bastable2Kirstie L. Pye3Anthony Martyr4Christopher J. Whitaker5Fergus I. M. Craik6Ellen Bialystok7Enlli M. Thomas8Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole9Linda Clare10Bangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKBangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKBangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKBangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKUniversity of Exeter, Devon, Exeter EX4 4QG, UKBangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKRotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, M6A 2E1, CanadaRotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, M6A 2E1, CanadaBangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKFlorida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USABangor University, Gwynedd, Bangor LL57 2DG, UKObjective. Bilingualism has been shown to benefit executive function (EF) and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aims at examining whether a bilingual advantage applies to EF in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Method. In a cross-sectional outpatient cohort of monolingual English (n=57) and bilingual Welsh/English (n=46) speakers with PD we evaluated the effects of bilingualism compared with monolingualism on performance on EF tasks. In bilinguals we also assessed the effects of the degree of daily usage of each language and the degree of bilingualism. Results. Monolinguals showed an advantage in performance of language tests. There were no differences in performance of EF tests in monolinguals and bilinguals. Those who used Welsh less in daily life had better performance on one test of English vocabulary. The degree of bilingualism correlated with one test of nonverbal reasoning and one of working memory but with no other tests of EF. Discussion. The reasons why the expected benefit in EF in Welsh-English bilinguals with PD was not found require further study. Future studies in PD should include other language pairs, analysis of the effects of the degree of bilingualism, and longitudinal analysis of cognitive decline or dementia together with structural or functional neuroimaging.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/943572
spellingShingle John V. Hindle
Pamela A. Martin-Forbes
Alexandra J. M. Bastable
Kirstie L. Pye
Anthony Martyr
Christopher J. Whitaker
Fergus I. M. Craik
Ellen Bialystok
Enlli M. Thomas
Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole
Linda Clare
Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
Parkinson's Disease
title Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
title_full Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
title_fullStr Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
title_full_unstemmed Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
title_short Cognitive Reserve in Parkinson’s Disease: The Effects of Welsh-English Bilingualism on Executive Function
title_sort cognitive reserve in parkinson s disease the effects of welsh english bilingualism on executive function
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/943572
work_keys_str_mv AT johnvhindle cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT pamelaamartinforbes cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT alexandrajmbastable cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT kirstielpye cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT anthonymartyr cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT christopherjwhitaker cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT fergusimcraik cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT ellenbialystok cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT enllimthomas cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT virginiacmuellergathercole cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction
AT lindaclare cognitivereserveinparkinsonsdiseasetheeffectsofwelshenglishbilingualismonexecutivefunction