Study Shows Bilinguals Have More Gray Matter Than Monolinguals

Contrary to past beliefs about the brain development of bilingual individuals, a new study proposes that those who speak two languages visibly possess more gray matter in the executive control section of the brain. Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) published a study in the journal Cerebral Cortex analyzing those who spoke both verbal English, American Sign Language (ASL), and those who spoke both English and Spanish, in order to compare the dynamic of contrasting languages, rather than different methods of expression. Results of the study found that ASL speakers showed typical brain features and Spanish-speakers displayed greater grey matter in portions of the brain relevant to language and control. “Inconsistencies in the reports about the bilingual advantage stem primarily from the variety of tasks that are used in attempts to elicit the advantage,” said the lead author of the study. “Given this concern, we took a different approach and instead compared gray matter volume between adult bilinguals and monolinguals. We reasoned that the experience with two languages and the increased need for cognitive control to use them appropriately would result in brain changes in Spanish-English bilinguals when compared with English-speaking monolinguals. And in fact greater gray matter for bilinguals was observed in frontal and parietal brain regions that are involved in executive control.” To learn more about this study, click here.