双语训练改善老年人认知功能的系统综述

目的 系统评价双语训练对于老年人认知功能的改善情况。方法 检索PubMed、Web of science、ScienceDirect、SpringerLink、万方、中国知网的相关文献,时限为2011年至2021年5月,并辅以参考文献回溯和手工检索,提取相关数据。结果 共获得有效文献21篇,来自12个国家,主要来源于医学、神经病学、心理学、生物学等相关的期刊,发表时间集中在2017年和2019年。研究包括前瞻性研究和回顾性研究,目标群体包括健康人群、痴呆患者和阿尔茨海默病(AD)患者,主要涉及双语对老年人认知功能的影响、双语训练对认知功能改善的作用途径及其效果、老年人双语训练的局限性等。结论 双语训练能改善老年人的认知功能,提高与记忆、注意和执行功能相关的脑功能连接性,延迟AD或痴呆的发病时间。脑结构和脑功能的改善是认知功能改善的主要原因,包括脑区连接增加、改变皮质回路激活水平和保持大脑结构的完整性和可塑性等;训练效果主要表现为执行功能和知觉功能的改善,延缓认知功能减退速度,并能在短期内起效。双语训练的最终结果可能是促进语言功能,保持大脑结构完整性,使用更多神经回路补偿。相关研究缺乏统一的受试人群标准和合理的控制条件,实验设计缺乏统一范式,还需要更多研究。

Bilingual training for cognition of older adults: a systematic review

Objective To systematically review the effects of bilingual training on cognition for older adults. Methods Researches about bilingual training for cognition for the older adults were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Wanfang Data, and CNKI from 2011 to May, 2021, supplemented by references backtracking and manual retrieval. The data was extracted for analysis. Results A total of 21 researches were included from twelve countries, which published mainly on journals of medicine, neurology, psychology, biology, etc., in 2017 and 2019. Most of the researches were prospective researches and retrospective researches, and the targeted groups including healthy people, people with dementia and people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objects mainly involved the effects of bilingualism on cognition, the pathways and the limitations. Conclusion Bilingual training may improve the cognition for older adults, through the brain connection related with memory, attention and execution, to delay the onset of AD or dementia; which may associate with the improvement of brain structure and function, including connectivity among regions, activation of cortical circuits, and structural integrity and plasticity. The effects are mainly on execution and perception, and delaying the cognitive decline, which appear in a short term. Bilingual training may finally promote language function, maintain the integrity of the brain structures, and compensate cognitive decline using more potential neural circuits. However, these researches need more uniform criteria for subjects, more reasonable control conditions, and more uniform paradigms.