A graduate student is inserting a patient into an MRI machine in a research lab at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research while a Hindi translation of a passage from Alice in Wonderland plays on headphones. The experiment’s goal is to map how the human brain processes language in dozens of different languages and determine whether speaking more than one of them alters the brain’s architecture in ways that are significant long after the last vocabulary lesson. This sounds almost whimsical.
Saima Malik-Moraleda, a PhD candidate who spent her childhood dividing her year between Girona in Catalonia and Kashmir, is the researcher in charge of this specific field. Before she was old enough to realize she was acting strangely, she was able to communicate in Catalán, Spanish, Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, and English. She is learning an eighth language and currently speaks seven. Her childhood confusion—observing relatives in Kashmir actively discourage their children from learning Kashmiri, steering them toward Urdu or English for practical reasons, while street signs in Barcelona defiantly listed Catalán first—was more what motivated her to pursue a career in neuroscience than her academic aspirations. Two locations with conflicting linguistic instincts and a struggle for cultural survival. She carried it with her.
It turns out that the question her lab is investigating—whether bilingual brains differ neurologically from monolingual ones—is more difficult to provide a definitive answer to. Studies yielded inconsistent findings for years, in part because previous researchers had been focusing on the wrong thing. The majority of that research was anatomy-based, monitoring activity in large brain areas, such as the left frontal cortex, without differentiating between the various neural networks functioning within it. Malik-Moraleda and her boss, Ev Fedorenko, attempted a more focused strategy, focusing on the multiple demand network, a system linked to fluid intelligence and the kind of cognitive juggling required to manage two languages.
The bilingual group consistently performed better and displayed stronger responses in that network when compared to monolingual subjects on a spatial memory task, which involved recalling the location of a series of flashes on a grid. Malik-Moraleda was surprised by the cleaner outcome. She had assumed that there would be no difference at all.
What that difference actually means is a legitimate question. Malik-Moraleda is cautious. Many bilingual individuals are immigrants or the offspring of immigrants who have generally overcome more difficult situations, and more difficult situations foster a specific type of cognitive resilience unrelated to language. Whether the stronger neural responses result from the linguistic exercise itself or from everything else that typically accompanies a bilingual lifestyle is still up for debate. It’s worth clinging to that honest ambiguity.
The way the bilingual brain handles the load structurally appears to be more obvious. According to recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the brain creates parallel, overlapping representations rather than maintaining distinct systems for different languages. This is known as shared phonological scaffolding, which keeps language-specific characteristics distinct while common sounds from different languages sit closely together. The workload of the brain is not doubled. It’s being compressed. It’s not surprising that native language processing requires significantly less neural effort than non-native language processing in the same brain, but what’s interesting is the compression itself. The architecture seems to self-organize.
The idea that a baby’s brain exposed to two languages from birth isn’t burdened but is, in a way, being trained toward a more flexible neural economy is hard not to find somewhat astounding. Although there is mounting evidence that this type of sustained cognitive engagement delays the onset of dementia symptoms, possibly by several years, the wider health implications are still being worked out. The direction of the evidence has been consistent enough that researchers aren’t discounting it, though whether that holds true across populations and study designs is still up for debate.
Malik-Moraleda’s long-term goal is to use the science to challenge the cultural politics that still surround bilingualism in places like Kashmir, demonstrating to the relatives who discouraged Kashmiri that what they were avoiding was actually a neurological gift. It’s asking a lot of brain imaging data. However, science has previously influenced discussions.⁖※
London Bilingualism's content on health, medicine, and weight loss is solely meant for general educational and informational purposes. This website does not offer any diagnosis, treatment recommendations, or medical advice.
We consistently compile and disseminate the most recent information, findings, and advancements from the medical, health, and weight loss sectors. When content contains opinions, commentary, or viewpoints from professionals, industry leaders, or other people, it is published exactly as it is and reflects those people's opinions rather than London Bilingualism's editorial stance.
We strongly advise all readers to consult a qualified medical professional before acting on any medical, health, dietary, or pharmaceutical information found on this website. Since every person's health situation is different, only a qualified healthcare provider who is familiar with your medical history can offer you advice that is suitable for you.
In a similar vein, any legal, regulatory, or compliance-related information found on this platform is provided solely for informational purposes and should not be used without first obtaining independent legal counsel from a licensed attorney.
You understand and agree that London Bilingualism, its editors, contributors, and affiliated parties are not responsible for any decisions made using the information on this website.
