Bilingualism and education may have distinct reserve/resilience trajectories: Evidence from white matter changes

The study demonstrate that bilingualism is associated with better cognitive reserve (preserved cognition despite reduced structural integrity), while education is associated with better brain reserve (better structural integrity and cognition). Advances in reserve/resilience theory propose that the neuroprotective effect, which is responsible for better structure (brain reserve) will be followed by a compensatory effect (cognitive reserve) as the structural integrity decline over time. Our study suggests that bilingualism and education may have two distinct reserve/resilience trajectories in the face of age-related changes.