Research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026 suggests that multilingual individuals may have brains that appear younger than expected for their age. The study, conducted by Dr. Lucia Amoruso and her team from various institutions in Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Ireland, focused on people living in the Basque region of Spain who spoke between one and four languages.
The researchers used magnetoencephalography to measure brain aging and artificial intelligence to analyze patterns of brain activity across different ages. They found that individuals who spoke two languages had brains that appeared about six years younger than those of monolingual speakers, while those who spoke three languages had brains that appeared seven years younger. Among people who spoke four languages, the difference in perceived age was roughly 13 years.
The effect of multilingualism on brain aging was not only related to the number of languages spoken but also to higher language proficiency and earlier acquisition of a second language. This suggests that the depth and duration of language experience contribute to delayed brain aging as a gradient rather than simply being bilingual or monolingual. The researchers adjusted their analysis for factors including age, sex, and education, while acknowledging that other influences on brain health could also play a role in these observed differences.