Abstract Whether bilingualism acts positively against neurocognitive decline is intensely debated. Although some reasons for it might be ideological, variability in sampling procedures and experimental design represent potential sources of inconsistency among studies. In this paper, we contend that bilingualism renders the extra-years of life of an increasingly long-lived population cognitively healthy, but only under specific conditions such as continuous practice and immersion in bilingual environments. We thus disagree with some authors’ recommendation that bilingualism be removed from consideration as a neuroprotective factor. We suggest, at the same time, that bilingualism should not be treated as axiologically superior to other environmental measures that promise to contrast the progressive loss of functional independence with increasing age. We conclude by emphasizing the need to evaluate the protective effects of L2-learning on the aging brain in a multimodal intervention perspective, thereby dissociating the effects of bilingualism from those of other cognitively stimulating factors.

中文翻译：

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双语与老龄化

摘要 双语是否对神经认知能力下降有积极作用引起了激烈的争论。尽管其某些原因可能是意识形态的，但抽样程序和实验设计的可变性代表了研究之间不一致的潜在来源。在本文中，我们认为双语使越来越长寿的人群的寿命延长了几年的认知健康，但仅限于特定条件下，例如持续练习和沉浸在双语环境中。因此，我们不同意一些作者的建议，即不应将双语作为神经保护因素考虑在内。同时，我们建议，双语制不应被视为在价值论上优于其他承诺将功能独立性逐渐丧失与年龄增长形成对比的环境措施。