# Speech Markers of Cognition in Aging Bilingualism

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $39,681

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Spontaneous speech undergoes subtle but significant changes years, or even decades, before the onset of
dementia. Signs of change in speech, or speech markers, include the use of syntactically simpler structures,
reduced idea density, and more filler words, nonspecific nouns, and higher frequency words (Berisha et al.,
2015; Snowdon, 1996). Such changes are potentially useful clinically for early diagnosis of dementia and are
more broadly interesting for understanding normal and impaired language production. The proposed studies
will investigate speech markers of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) prior to diagnosis (i.e., in prodromal AD) in
Spanish-English bilinguals. Speech markers have not been investigated in bilinguals even though use of two
languages might magnify the cognitive mechanisms underlying speech production and sensitivity to prodromal
AD. Bilinguals may exhibit unique speech markers not found in monolinguals, and some of the same markers
as monolinguals but with differential sensitivity across their two languages. When bilinguals speak, they must
choose which language to speak and must avoid interference from the language they are not using, tasks that
may be especially difficult when speaking in the relatively less proficient, or non-dominant, language (L2). By
contrast, speech in the dominant language, or L1, is relatively more automatic, at least in some aspects, and is
also the language in which bilinguals may have their highest level of semantic knowledge and linguistic skill.
These key differences between L1 and L2 lead to different expectations about which aspects of speech in each
language should be most sensitive to cognitive decline (Aim 1) and most strongly correlated with other
domains of cognitive functioning (Aim 2). To test these hypotheses, in Aim 1, we will examine archival data of
spontaneous speech in bilinguals who were cognitively healthy at the time of testing but years later developed
a diagnosis of Probable AD to identify linguistic markers of prodromal AD in L1 and L2. In Aim 2, we will
prospectively examine relationships between L1 and L2 spontaneous speech markers and general cognitive
functioning (measured by a battery of neuropsychological tests) and will test the hypothesis that time-
pressured picture-naming, a recently identified speech marker of dementia risk (Stiver et al., 2021) may be a
better speech marker of prodromal AD than naming with unlimited time because of greater demand it places
on executive control. By examining the intersection of speech production and cognitive decline in bilinguals the
proposed studies will inform models of bilingualism and will shed unique light on the role of executive control in
supporting speech production more generally. The intersection between these fields of study may also lead to
improved methods for early identification of AD in a diverse demographic. Lastly, this research project will
enhance the applicant’s graduate school training and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10466630
- **Project number:** 1F31AG077915-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Dalia Garcia
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $39,681
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10466630

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10466630, Speech Markers of Cognition in Aging Bilingualism (1F31AG077915-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10466630. Licensed CC0.

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