People who speak more than one language may have brains that look younger than expected for their age, according to research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026.
The study, led by Dr. Lucia Amoruso of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, examined multilingual adults from Spain’s Basque region who spoke between one and four languages, including Spanish, Basque, French and English. The team used magnetoencephalography and artificial intelligence to build a brain aging model based on patterns of brain activity.
Researchers first analyzed data from 728 people to create the model, then applied it to a separate group of 144 participants to estimate each person’s brain age. They found that people who spoke two languages had brains that appeared about six years younger than those of monolingual speakers, while people who spoke three languages showed a difference of about seven years. For those who spoke four languages, the gap was roughly 13 years.
According to Dr. Amoruso, the results suggest that multilingual experience may matter in degree, not just in whether someone speaks another language at all. Earlier second-language learning and higher proficiency were also linked with more delayed brain aging, although the researchers noted that other factors such as lifestyle and social engagement could also play a role.
The team now hopes to see whether similar patterns show up in people with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. They also want to explore whether speaking closely related languages could have an even stronger effect on brain aging.
