Executive control in bilingual aphasia

In this research project, the role of executive control in bilingual persons with aphasia (PWA) is investigated. As multilingualism is becoming the norm across the world, more research is dedicated to the cognitive effects of being able to speak more than one language, especially in the domain of executive control. Speaking and managing more than one language requires language monitoring, inhibition and shifting. Due to co-occurring deficits in executive functioning observed in PWA, these demands may be difficult to meet. At the same time, bilinguals may have better executive control due to lifelong training with managing two languages. Recent work has shown that bilingual PWA showed better executive control abilities when compared to monolinguals. Moreover, from research into monolingual PWA we know that better executive control is associated with better recovery, therapy outcome and functional communication. Because of the vital role of executive control in managing two languages as well as for aphasia, it is important to further investigate the contribution of executive control to the language and communicative abilities of bilingual PWA.