Postdoc Spotlight

Bilingualism has been linked to advantages in cognitive development among children, including an easier time understanding math concepts and using logic to think through problems. If knowing multiple languages can help with brain development, is it possible that bilingualism could also help curb the onset of cognitive decline?

Merike Lang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University, investigates the neuroprotective effects of bilingualism on normal and abnormal aging. Her presentation, "Longitudinal Cognitive Changes and Brain Biomarkers in Bilingual Hispanics/Latinos with MCI [Mild Cognitive Impairment]: Preliminary Analyses," won the Lightning Presentation Round at the Alzheimer's Association's recent Latinos and Alzheimer's Symposium in San Diego.

“I chose to study bilingualism and cognition because as a Spanish/English bilingual that completed my undergraduate degrees at University of Miami in both psychology and Spanish, I have great interest in understanding the neuroprotective effects of speaking multiple languages on cognitive function, and how this experience may mitigate decline due to memory disorders,” Lang said.

Lang started as a postdoctoral fellow in 2023, under the mentorship of Mónica Rosselli, Ph.D., professor and associate chair of the Department of Psychology in the College of Science, after completing her master’s degree in psychology and her doctorate in experimental psychology at Florida Atlantic. She works in Rosselli’s Neuropsychology Lab, where, as a graduate student, she was an evaluator for a five-year longitudinal study at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, collecting neuropsychological data for patients suspected to be diagnosed with MCI or Alzheimer’s disease in English and Spanish to aid in diagnosing these memory disorders.

As a graduate student, Lang published research on the cross-cultural differences in the association between symptoms of depression and cognitive function, and on the relationship between symptoms of depression and apathy with Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers such as cortical volumes.

An experienced musician with more than 20 years playing piano, Lang’s doctoral dissertation explored the influence of musical training and bilingualism on neuroplasticity in younger adults.

Lang explained that her research contributes to the greater understanding of the association between bilingualism and cognition by comparing individuals who speak both Spanish and English to those who are monolingual in either Spanish or English across different clinical diagnostic groups (i.e., cognitively normal, MCI or dementia) on cognitive measures and brain biomarkers such as cortical volumes and amyloid load.

“This investigation can help to demonstrate the contribution of experience-dependent neuroplasticity due to speaking multiple languages and the development of cognitive reserve for the older population diagnosed with memory disorders,” she said.