Language switching in Spanish–English bilinguals with Alzheimer's
Language Switching with Alzheimer's Disease
This project looks at how Spanish–English bilingual people with Alzheimer's use and switch between their two languages during thinking and memory tasks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11076684 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would take language and memory tests in both Spanish and English while researchers watch how well you find words, switch languages, and remember information. The team will use tasks that require switching within sentences and between contexts and will sometimes test in one language before the other to see if that changes performance. They will compare bilingual participants' results to typical patterns to identify which language situations reveal or hide cognitive difficulties. The findings aim to help make cognitive testing fairer and more accurate for bilingual people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are Spanish–English bilingual adults who have memory concerns, mild cognitive impairment, or a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and can complete in-person language testing.
Not a fit: People who are monolingual, who do not speak both Spanish and English, or who cannot complete language-based testing because of severe hearing, speech, or language impairment are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to clearer and fairer cognitive testing and earlier, more accurate diagnosis for Spanish–English bilinguals with Alzheimer's.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research shows bilingualism affects language control and test performance, but using targeted language-switch tasks specifically in Alzheimer's is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gollan, Tamar — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Gollan, Tamar
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.