Student Newspaper – Sara Konradi 
Dr Thomas Bak is a reader at the University of Edinburgh School of Philosophy, Psychology and Languages Sciences. He is an expert in cognitive neuroscience, particularly in relation to language and cognition. On 7 December 2017, he discussed the cognitive benefits of learning more than one language. Having spent the first 20 years of his career studying how brain diseases influence brain function, the cognitive neuroscientist developed his research interest in second language learning “relatively late”. Dr Bak reached a turning point in 2007, after discovering Bialystok and colleague’s work on bilinguals showing dementia symptoms four years later than monolinguals. “Even today, no drug produces the same effect,” he remarked. (more)