About the project

In this project we investigate the effect of multilingual experiences (e.g., language use) on cognition and brain activity in middle-aged adults (45-65 years-old). Moreover, we are interested in how (familial) genetic risk for Alzheimer's Disease may modulate this effect. In our project brain activity will be measured with electroencephalography (EEG) and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) (please find more info below). Since March 2025, we do not collect fNIRS data anymore.

This project is carried out in the Bilingualism and Aging lab, which is part of the Center for Language & Cognition at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands by Janine Rook, under supervision of Prof. dr. Merel Keijzer (University of Groningen), dr. Greg Poarch (University of Groningen) and dr. Vincent DeLuca (University of Tromso) and is funded by an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant.

The study consists of two parts:

1) An online interview on language background, familial history of Alzheimer's Disease and life style (~2 hours with Google Meet);
2) A session at the Humanities labs of the University of Groningen with cognitive tests and language tests, during which we will measure brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG) (~3 hours). Since March 2025, we do not collect fNIRS data anymore.

Please note that we cannot say anything about your personal risk of developing Alzheimer's disease based on the individual data we gather from you.

EEG

This is what an EEG cap looks like. This cap has several electrodes which contain small metal discs with thin wires. These electrodes detect tiny electrical charges that result from the activity of your brain cells.

fNIRS

This is what an fNIRS cap looks like. A fNIRS cap has optodes. The optodes measure brain activity by using near-infrared light. With the near-infrared light changes in brain activity can be measured.

EEG/fNIRS

For this study, we will use a cap that contains both electrodes and optodes, so that we can measure EEG and fNIRS at the same time. On the picture, you can see the cap that we are using for our project. Since March 2025, we do not make use of this cap anymore. Instead, we use the EEG cap shown above.

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