MC/HL2C Research Group: Toms Voits (18 June 2025)

Описание: Toms Voits (University of Gothenburg, Department of Psychology)
Talk Title: Growing old with more than one language: How can bilingualism research inform cognitive neuroscience of aging
As global populations age, increasing attention is being paid to lifestyle and experiential factors that may delay the onset of cognitive aging and promote the longevity of healthy life and cognition. Bilingualism has emerged as one such factor – a promising contributor to more successful cognitive aging trajectories and outcomes. In the first part of this talk I will present empirical research across different populations honing in on bilingual effects on the hippocampus – a brain structure essential for learning and memory that, crucially, is particularly sensitive to the aging process and implicated in dementia. In the second part of my talk, I will consider bilingualism within a broader context of lifestyle factors and present data showing the unique role of bilingualism among them. I will explore the nuanced effects of bilingual experiences on the aging brain and outline an interdisciplinary approach to cognitive aging research integrating language experiences with other demographic, lifestyle, and biological factors to better understand their combined effects on the brain.