ABSTRACT

Some studies have found that bilingualism promotes cognitive reserve. Objective: We aimed to determine whether bilingualism, defined as regularly (i.e. daily) using at least two languages at least since early adulthood, is associated with cognitive advantages in Parkinson’s disease (PD) or whether the possible benefits of bilingualism are lost in the context of PD, possibly affecting quality of life (QoL) and independence. Method: Participants with idiopathic PD (n = 140, mean age = 67.9 [SD = 6.4], 78% men) completed standard neuropsychological tasks evaluating attention/working memory, language, executive function, memory, and visuospatial ability, as well as measures of wellbeing and functional independence. Results: Bilinguals with PD (n = 21) performed worse than monolinguals with PD (n = 92) on attention/working memory and language measures. The between-group differences in attention/working memory were restricted to verbally-based measures. When measured along a continuum, a higher degree of bilingualism was correlated with lower scores on measures of attention/working memory and language. There were no group differences in self- or informant-reported cognitive decline, PD health-related QoL, or functional independence. Conclusions: Bilingualism in PD was not associated with better cognitive performance. Lower scores on language-based measures may reflect a distributed fund of linguistic information across more than one language, lower language proficiency in English, and/or other cultural artifacts. Furthermore, using normative data specific to the dominant language spoken or conducting neuropsychological testing in participants’ self-reported most proficient language may enhance additional studies addressing this topic. Future research may also examine the roles of bilingualism over time and across other neurodegenerative diseases with and without EF impairment to illuminate further the impact of bilingualism on cognition and QoL, and shape culturally and linguistically diverse research and clinical care.

摘要

一些研究发现，双语会促进认知储备。目标：我们旨在确定双语（定义为至少从成年早期开始定期（即每天）使用至少两种语言）是否与帕金森病 (PD) 的认知优势相关，或者双语的可能益处是否在上下文中消失PD，可能会影响生活质量 (QoL) 和独立性。方法：特发性 PD 参与者（n = 140，平均年龄 = 67.9 [ SD  = 6.4]，78% 男性）完成了评估注意力/工作记忆、语言、执行功能、记忆和视觉空间能力以及测量的标准神经心理学任务福祉和功能独立性。结果：患有 PD 的双语者 ( n= 21) 比单语者的 PD 表现更差 ( n= 92) 关于注意力/工作记忆和语言测量。注意/工作记忆的组间差异仅限于基于口头的措施。当沿着连续体测量时，较高的双语程度与注意力/工作记忆和语言测量的较低分数相关。在自我报告或知情人报告的认知能力下降、PD 健康相关 QoL 或功能独立性方面没有组间差异。结论： PD 中的双语能力与更好的认知表现无关。基于语言的测量分数较低可能反映了跨一种以上语言的语言信息的分布式基金、较低的英语语言熟练程度和/或其他文化产物。此外，使用特定于主要语言的规范数据或对参与者自我报告的最熟练语言进行神经心理学测试可能会加强针对该主​​题的其他研究。未来的研究还可能会随着时间的推移检查双语在有和没有 EF 损伤的其他神经退行性疾病中的作用，以进一步阐明双语对认知和 QoL 的影响，并塑造文化和语言多样化的研究和临床护理。