Speaking a second language may delay dementia by up to five years – more than powerful drugs, researchers say.
一項研究表明，會說兩種語言以上的人，比起服用強效藥用，更可以延緩老年癡呆症長達五年！
A study suggests being bilingual exercises the mind, so it has greater reserves when disease takes hold. But there are no additional advantages to speaking any more than two languages, according to the study in the journal Neurology. It was carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India.
Thomas Bak, of Edinburgh University, said: ‘These findings suggest that bilingualism might have a stronger influence on dementia than any currently available drugs.’
雙語者用腦相對單一語言者更多，因此大腦供血量也更多，且腦神經之間的聯繫更容易維持在矯健的狀態，正是這種「腦力鍛煉」推遲了罹患老年癡呆症的時間。
這項研究是由愛丁堡大學(the University of Edinburgh)的Thomas Bak和位於印度的醫學科學研究所聯合進行的，Thomas說：「這些發現顯示，雙語可能比任何目前可用的治療老年痴呆症的藥劑更有效。」
