A neural mechanism of cognitive reserve: The case of bilingualism

Cognitive Reserve (CR) refers to the preservation of cognitive function in the face of age-or disease-related neuroanatomical decline. While bilingualism is known to contribute to CR, the extent to which, and what particular aspect of, second language experience contributes to CR are debated, and the underlying neural mechanism(s) unknown. Intrinsic functional connectivity reflects experience-dependent neuroplasticity that occurs across timescales ranging from minutes to decades, and may be a neural mechanism underlying CR. To test this hypothesis, we used voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity analyses of MRI data to compare structural and functional brain integrity between bilingual and monolingual older adults, matched on cognitive performance using a rigorous propensity score matching technique, and across levels of second language proficiency measured as a continuous variable. Bilingualism, and degree of second language proficiency in particular, were associated with lower grey matter integrity in a hub of the default mode network – a region that is particularly vulnerable to decline in aging and dementia – but preserved functional network organization that resembled the young adult brain. Our findings confirm that lifelong bilingualism contributes to CR through experience-dependent maintenance of optimal functional network structure of the domain-general attentional control network across the lifespan.