Bilingualism has been suggested to be beneficial for executive control and could have positive long-term effects by delaying the onset of symptoms of degenerative diseases. This research investigated for the first time the impact of bilingualism on the executive control, specifically the monitoring and inhibitory control, in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a neurodegenerative disease which commonly causes deficiencies in the cognitive system. Bilingual and monolingual adults, with and without an MS diagnosis, performed a flanker task in two degrees of monitoring demands (high monitoring vs. low monitoring). Results showed that bilingual MS patients had similar inhibitory control and monitoring abilities to healthy bilingual controls. In contrast, monolingual MS patients showed similar inhibitory control but significantly worse monitoring abilities compared to monolingual healthy controls. We propose that the similar behaviour between bilingual groups suggests that bilingualism might counteract cognitive deficits related to MS, especially with respect to monitoring. The high monitoring cost observed in monolingual patients seems related to underlying deficits in the monitoring and possibly switching, executive control abilities commonly impaired in MS patients from early stages. Our findings provide some preliminary evidence for the cognitive reserve hypothesis in bilingual MS patients.

中文翻译：

---

多发性硬化症和双语

双语被认为有利于执行控制，并且可以通过延迟退行性疾病症状的发作产生积极的长期影响。这项研究首次调查了双语对多发性硬化症 (MS) 患者执行控制的影响，特别是监测和抑制控制，多发性硬化症 (MS) 是一种通常会导致认知系统缺陷的神经退行性疾病。双语和单语成人，有和没有 MS 诊断，在两种监测要求（高监测与低监测）下执行侧翼任务。结果表明，双语 MS 患者具有与健康双语对照者相似的抑制控制和监测能力。相比之下，与单语健康对照相比，单语 MS 患者表现出类似的抑制控制，但监测能力明显较差。我们认为双语群体之间的相似行为表明双语可能会抵消与 MS 相关的认知缺陷，尤其是在监测方面。在单语患者中观察到的高监测成本似乎与监测和可能转换的潜在缺陷有关，执行控制能力通常在 MS 患者早期就受损。我们的研究结果为双语 MS 患者的认知储备假说提供了一些初步证据。尤其是在监控方面。在单语患者中观察到的高监测成本似乎与监测和可能转换的潜在缺陷有关，执行控制能力通常在 MS 患者早期就受损。我们的研究结果为双语 MS 患者的认知储备假说提供了一些初步证据。尤其是在监控方面。在单语患者中观察到的高监测成本似乎与监测和可能转换的潜在缺陷有关，执行控制能力通常在 MS 患者早期就受损。我们的研究结果为双语 MS 患者的认知储备假说提供了一些初步证据。