A recent study suggests that 40 percent of bilingual patients regained normal function after a stroke when compared with just 20 percent of those who spoke only one language.
A stroke is a type of cerebrovascular accident. It occurs when poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death. There are two types of stroke: ischemic, which occurs due to lack of blood flow; and hemorrhagic, which happens due to internal bleeding. Both types result in the same condition where a region of the brain ceases to function properly.
The new study infers that the ability to speak a second language somehow protects the brain against the stroke condition (at least in more cases when compared with those who are monolingual.) Interestingly this tallies with a separate tranche of research that suggests speaking a second language could delay dementia by five years (based on the work of Dr Ellen Bialystok,of York University in Toronto.)
The data that led to the conclusion about stroke recovery was gathered from studies of 608 stroke patients in Hyderabad, India. The patients were normalized for other health factors, so the data patterns related solely to language skills.
The study was carried out by Thomas Bak, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. Professor Bak told The Daily Telegraph: “Bilingualism makes people to switch from one language to another, so while they inhibit one language, they have to activate another to communicate.
“This switching offers practically constant brain training which may be a factor in helping stroke patients recover.”
The findings are published in the journal Stroke. The paper is titled “Impact of Bilingualism on Cognitive Outcome After Stroke.”
