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Furthermore, due to the assumption that subcortical regions are not significantly involved in language-related tasks, the thalamus has rarely been analyzed in relation to other language-relevant cortical regions. Given these limitations, we aimed to evaluate the functional connectivity and volume modifications of thalamic subfields using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities following the acquisition of a second language. Structural MRI and fMRI data from 51 participants were collected from the OpenNeuro database. The participants were divided into three groups: monolingual (ML), early bilingual (EB), and late bilingual (LB). The EB group consisted of individuals proficient in both English and Spanish, with exposure to these languages before the age of 10 years. The LB group consisted of individuals proficient in both English and Spanish, but with exposure to these languages after the age of 14 years. The ML group included participants proficient only in English. Our results revealed that the ML group exhibited increased functional connectivity in all thalamic subfields (anterior, intralaminar-medial, lateral, ventral, and pulvinar) compared with the EB and LB groups. In addition, a significantly decreased volume of the left suprageniculate nucleus was found in the bilingual groups compared with the ML group. This study provides valuable evidence suggesting that acquiring a second language may be protective against dementia, due to its high plasticity potential, which acts synergistically with cognitive functions to slow the degenerative process.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_02304","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,27]],"date-time":"2025-01-27T11:23:26Z","timestamp":1737977006000},"page":"1238-1256","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Bilingualism Is Associated with Significant Structural and Connectivity Alterations in the Thalamus in Adulthood"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"37","author":[{"given":"Behcet","family":"Ayyildiz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Kocaeli University"}]},{"given":"Dila","family":"Sayman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University"}]},{"given":"Sevilay","family":"Ayyildiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kocaeli University"},{"name":"Technical University of Munich"}]},{"given":"Ece Ozdemir","family":"Oktem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University"}]},{"given":"Ruhat","family":"Arslan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey"},{"name":"Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa"}]},{"given":"Tuncay","family":"Colak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kocaeli University"}]},{"given":"Belgin","family":"Bamac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kocaeli University"}]},{"given":"Burak","family":"Yulug","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"466","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2008.03.014","article-title":"Neural aspects of second language representation and language control","volume":"128","author":"Abutalebi","year":"2008","journal-title":"Acta Psychologica"},{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2126","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neurobiolaging.2014.03.010","article-title":"Bilingualism protects anterior temporal lobe integrity in aging","volume":"35","author":"Abutalebi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Neurobiology of Aging"},{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"370","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-019-0611-3","article-title":"An improved neuroanatomical model of the default-mode network reconciles previous neuroimaging and neuropathological findings","volume":"2","author":"Alves","year":"2019","journal-title":"Communications Biology"},{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"455","DOI":"10.1080\/13803395.2014.990359","article-title":"Interference control in elderly bilinguals: Appearances can be misleading","volume":"37","author":"Ansaldo","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology"},{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101683","DOI":"10.1016\/j.infbeh.2021.101683","article-title":"Attentional orienting abilities in bilinguals: Evidence from a large infant sample","volume":"66","author":"Arredondo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Infant Behavior and Development"},{"key":"2025091713312013000_bib6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2014.00485","article-title":"Never too late? 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