Over the last decade, research on multilingualism has grown and has provided researchers with new insights into the mechanisms at work in the multilingual brain. While some studies of multilinguals have shown similar results to what has been seen in studies of bilinguals, certain unique properties of multilinguals are beginning to be noticed, particularly regarding early language representation, gray matter density, and speed of lexical retrieval. In addition, research on cognitive control, language switching, working memory, and certain consequences of multilingualism (advantages and disadvantages) are reviewed in terms of their effects on the brains of bilinguals and multilinguals. Although there is little agreement among papers concerning specific regions that are structurally different in monolinguals and multilinguals, publications do show differences. Similarly, there are studies reporting somewhat different regions called upon for processing a given language in multilinguals compared to monolinguals.

Background/Study Context: Lexical retrieval abilities and executive function skills decline with age. The extent to which these processes might be interdependent remains unknown. The aim of the current study was to examine whether individual differences in three executive functions (shifting, fluency, and inhibition) predicted naming performance in older adults. Methods:The sample included 264 adults aged 55-84. Six measures of executive functions were combined to make three executive function composites scores. Lexical retrieval performance was measured by accuracy and response time on two tasks: object naming and action naming. We conducted a series of multiple regressions to test whether executive function performance predicts naming abilities in older adults. Results:We found that different executive functions predicted naming speed and accuracy. Shifting predicted naming accuracy for both object and action naming while fluency predicted response times on both tests as well as object naming accuracy, after controlling for education, gender, age, working memory span, and speed of processing in all regressions. Interestingly, inhibition did not contribute to naming accuracy or response times on either task.

When bilinguals produce words in one language, their translation equivalents in the other language are thought to be activated as well. A common assumption is that this parallel co-activation produces interference, which slows down word retrieval. The current study aimed to evaluate the assumption of lexical interference during word retrieval by testing whether late Portuguese–English bilinguals were slower to name pictures in their native language when they knew the word in their second language compared to when they only knew the native language label. Instead of interfering with production, knowing the second-language label facilitated speed of word retrieval in the native language for both cognate and non-cognate translation-equivalent pairs. We suggest that using the second language may provide an indirect frequency boost for translation-equivalent words in the native language. This frequency boost has both long-term and short-term effects, strengthening connections to native-language labels when the translation equivalent is retrieved.