A study from the University of Washington has shown that babies raised in bilingual environments develop core cognitive skills such as decision-making and problem solving before they can speak. The researchers monitored 16 babies. Half of the babies from English-speaking households and half from English and Spanish speaking households.

The researchers monitored the babies response to speech sounds that were preverbal to English and Spanish specific sounds using magnetoencephalography (MEG). The MEG helped them clearly identify which parts of the brain were activated via electromagnetic activity.

It was found that the babies from English and Spanish speaking households had lots of activity in the regions of the brain responsible for executive functions, the prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. “Our results suggest that before they even start talking, babies raised in bilingual households are getting practice at tasks related to executive function,” said lead author Naja Ferjan Ramírez . "Babies raised listening to two languages seem to stay 'open' to the sounds of novel languages longer than their monolingual peers, which is a good and highly adaptive thing for their brains to do," said co-author Patricia Kuhl in a press release.

Most studies have shown that bilingual adults have better executive brain functions than adults who only speak one language. This mans that bilingual adults are better able to switch focus between tasks, recall memories and demonstrate those skills. These brain functions are also key to success in school. Learning another language may also help prevent or delay degenerative brain diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's.