Prof. Ellen Bialystok (York University, Toronto) will give a public lecture on Thursday, 6 February 2014, 5:30 pm at Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Curtis Auditorium. The lecture is free to attend for all.

Getting Old in Two Languages:  How Bilingualism Affects Memory and Aging'

The regular use of two languages has been shown to enhance aspects of cognition across the lifespan, leading to bilingual advantages on tasks that require attention, inhibition, and shifting between tasks. But what happens when lifelong bilinguals begin to experience the changes that come with aging and these processes of attention and shifting decline? This talk will review evidence from behavioural and neuroimaging studies to examine cognition and memory for monolinguals and bilinguals in older age, both with healthy aging and dementia.