Health & Bio2 min read
Health & Bio
Multilingual People May Have Brains Up to 13 Years Younger, Study Finds
Research presented at the FENS Forum 2026 found that people who speak more languages tend to have younger-looking brains, with four-language speakers showing brains up to 13 years younger than monolingual speakers.
Step by step
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Brain aging clock built from 728 people
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Brain activity measured with MEG
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AI estimated typical brain connectivity by age
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Clock applied to 144 more people
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Multilingual speakers showed younger brain age
People who speak more than one language may have brains that appear younger than expected for their age, according to research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026 by Dr. Lucia Amoruso of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastian, Spain, working with researchers from institutes in Chile, Argentina and Ireland.
The team focused on people from the Basque region of Spain who spoke between one and four languages, using different combinations of Spanish, Basque, French and English. To measure brain aging, the researchers first studied 728 people and built a 'brain aging clock' using magnetoencephalography, a method that detects the faint magnetic fields produced when brain cells are active; artificial intelligence then analyzed patterns of brain activity across people of different ages to estimate what typical brain connectivity looks like at each stage of life. They then applied the clock to a separate group of 144 people to estimate each person's brain age.
People who spoke two languages had brains that appeared about six years younger than those who spoke only one language. Those who spoke three languages had brains that appeared about seven years younger, and among people who spoke four languages, the difference grew to roughly 13 years. Higher language proficiency and earlier acquisition of a second language were also associated with more delayed brain aging, Amoruso said, suggesting multilingual experience matters as a gradient rather than a simple bilingual-or-not distinction.
The researchers adjusted their analysis for age, sex and education, but cautioned that other factors affecting brain health, including lifestyle and social engagement, could also contribute to the differences observed.
The study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Fogarty International Center, and the Multi-partner Consortium to Expand Dementia Research in Latin America (ReDLat), with additional support from the Alzheimer's Association, the Global Brain Health Institute, the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, Alzheimer's Society UK, FONDECYT and the Ramon y Cajal fellowship through the Spanish State Research Agency.
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#multilingualism#brain aging#neuroscience#FENS#Basque Center on Cognition
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