Abstract Bilingualism has been associated with age-related cognitive advantage. It is important to study cognitive control mechanisms to better understand this phenomenon. We sought to examine proactive and reactive control, as measured by fast and slow responses, respectively. The neural underpinnings of these modes of control were studied in rigorously matched elderly monolinguals and bilinguals, using fMRI performance on a Simon task. The results indicate that bilinguals performed efficiently in proactive mode, as more activation and connectivity were observed in the monolinguals. On the other hand, the monolinguals functioned more efficiently in reactive mode, recruiting fewer brain areas than the bilinguals. These results suggest that bilinguals’ function effortlessly and economically in proactive mode, which is preserved through lifelong use of languages, whereas monolinguals are efficient in reactive mode, which they use more often as a consequence of aging. Thus, frequent use in daily life contributes to efficient functioning in the respective mode of control.

中文翻译：

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双语优势问题的新视角

摘要 双语与年龄相关的认知优势有关。研究认知控制机制以更好地理解这种现象很重要。我们试图检查主动和被动控制，分别通过快速和慢速响应来衡量。这些控制模式的神经基础在严格匹配的单语和双语老年人中进行了研究，使用 fMRI 在西蒙任务上的表现。结果表明，双语者在主动模式下表现高效，因为在单语者中观察到更多的激活和连接。另一方面，单语者在反应模式下更有效地运作，比双语者招募更少的大脑区域。这些结果表明双语者在主动模式下可以毫不费力地经济地发挥作用，这是通过终身使用语言而保留下来的，而单语者在反应模式下是有效的，由于衰老，他们更频繁地使用这种模式。因此，在日常生活中频繁使用有助于在相应的控制模式下有效运作。