Sunday, February 15, 2026 2/15/2026

Bilingual Alzheimer's Disease

Award Number: R01DC011492
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2010
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Bilingual Alzheimer's Disease - DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project investigates the joint consequences of bilingualism and Alzheimer's disease (AD) for linguistic and cognitive processing, with the goals of shaping psycholinguistic models of bilingualism (Aim 1), testing models of cognitive decline in AD (Aim 2), and characterizing the profile of cognitive impairments typical of bilingual AD (Aim 3). Data from an initial 5 years of funding revealed unexpected patterns of dual-language decline in AD, and suggested that bilinguals perform differently from monolinguals on neuropsychological tests often used to diagnose AD. These results challenge models of bilingualism and cognitive decline in AD, which currently do not account for patterns of cognitive change in bilingual AD, and they underscore the need to further investigate how factors that are known to affect bilingual language processing influence the presentation of AD in bilinguals. We consider three major accounts of bilingual language processing to derive predictions about dual-language decline in AD, while also aiming to identify which language, which tasks, and which testing conditions produce the greatest differences between Spanish-English bilinguals with AD and matched cognitively healthy controls. As a part of this endeavor, we propose to extend our investigation of language deficits in bilingual AD from single word production to also examine production of connected speech and verbal list memory. The proposed studies provide a unique test of models of cognitive decline in AD, which, when considered in concert with different bilingual processing models, lead to different predictions about dual-language change in bilingual AD. By testing these models, we aim to identify which cognitive mechanism is responsible for linguistic decline in bilingual AD (semantic processing, retrieval difficulty, or executive control), to shed light on the role of executive control in bilingual language processing and, possibly, to identify protective effects of bilingualism against cognitive decline, and unique markers of AD in bilinguals. Using objective measures of bilingual language proficiency, each study will examine how bilingualism affects performance across the full continuum from low to high levels of proficiency. The proposed studies will continue a systematic program of research that aims to characterize the typical presentation of cognitive deficits in bilingual AD, while bringing unique evidence to bear on models of bilingual language processing and cognitive decline in AD. The proposed studies will provide a theoretical framework from which to develop better assessment measures for bilinguals, and they will have further practical implications by identifying conditions that minimize interference between languages and allow bilinguals with AD to speak as fluently as they can.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2022	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	10	11/18/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2022	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	10	8/30/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $447,848 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	10	11/6/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$403,063
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	10	1/17/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$44,785
														Subtotal = $447,848

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $447,848 )
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	9	11/14/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$447,848
														Subtotal = $447,848

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $447,848 )
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	8	4/4/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$44,785
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	8	11/14/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$403,063
														Subtotal = $447,848

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $447,848 )
2017	2017	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	7	11/15/2016	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$403,063
2017	2017	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DR DEPT 621	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	7	5/24/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$44,785
														Subtotal = $447,848

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $461,023 )
2016	2016	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	6	11/13/2015	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$461,023
2016	2015	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	5	11/12/2015	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $461,023

Issue Date FY: 2015 ( Subtotal = $439,303 )
2015	2015	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	5	11/20/2014	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$399,366
2015	2015	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	5	1/13/2015	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$39,937
														Subtotal = $439,303

Issue Date FY: 2014 ( Subtotal = $450,306 )
2014	2014	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	4	2/10/2014	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$45,030
2014	2014	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	4	12/23/2013	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$405,276
														Subtotal = $450,306

Issue Date FY: 2013 ( Subtotal = $527,213 )
2013	2013	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	3	5/15/2013	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$27,748
2013	2013	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	11/2/2012	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$499,465
														Subtotal = $527,213

Issue Date FY: 2012 ( Subtotal = $591,715 )
2012	2012	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	11/7/2011	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$542,858
2012	2012	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	2	1/26/2012	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$48,857
														Subtotal = $591,715

Issue Date FY: 2011 ( Subtotal = $493,088 )
2011	2011	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	1	8/11/2011	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$35,943
2011	2011	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO	9500 GILMAN DRIVE	LA JOLLA	CA	92093	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	11/19/2010	NEW	$457,145
														Subtotal = $493,088

Grand Total All Awards = $4,754,040

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Bilingual Alzheimer's Disease

Award Number: R01DC011492

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2010

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2022

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer