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Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Bilingualism: A Brief Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

G. W. Hughes*
Affiliation:
Glenside Hospital, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DD

Extract

Individuals who speak one or more languages in addition to English comprise a small but important proportion of the general population of this country. In most clinical situations, provided verbal communication is adequate, proficiency in a second language has little medical relevance. Studies of neuropsychiatric disorder in bilinguals and polyglots have, however, demonstrated that their cerebral organization and utilization of language is different to that observed in monolinguals. Such differences have important implications in the clinical presentation and management of neuropsychiatric illness in bilingual patients.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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