MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
Federico Gallo – Research Fellow Center for Neuroeconomics and Cognitive Research Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences, National Research University Higher School of EconomicsIn 2023, he received the award “For special achievements in career and public life among foreign graduates of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.” In an interview, Federico talked about how he came to science and why he stayed in it, and also revealed the secret of an effective remedy against old age.
The Beginning of the Journey: From Ancient Greek to Neuroscience
Since childhood, I loved books, especially books about science, history, and the English language. I studied in a classical school, that is, I studied ancient Greek and Latin, antiquity. I was a very inquisitive child, and I was lucky that my family and friends always supported this inquisitive research nature in me. Then I realized that I wanted to connect my life with science, but I did not know which field exactly.
At first, I decided that I wanted to become an astrophysicist and entered the physics department. But soon I realized that I was more attracted to mathematics and thought about changing my specialty. Then my mother, a high school teacher, advised me to pay attention to neuroscience. At that time, it was a completely new field of research. I was attracted by the fact that it combined several fields of knowledge, including the exact sciences, psychology, and linguistics. Even now, it seems to me that interdisciplinarity is the most remarkable and strong side of neuroscience.
In 2011, I entered the University of Milan. Our first class was taught by Professor Andrea Moro. Incidentally, he was a student of Noam Chomsky himself, one of the most important intellectuals of the 20th century, who influenced the development of cognitive sciences in the world. I was fascinated not so much by the subject that Andrea taught, but by his approach to science. When it came time to write my thesis, I really wanted him to be my supervisor. But it so happened that Andrea received a new important position, and he did not have enough time to deal with scientific supervision. Then he recommended that I contact his wonderful colleague Professor Jubin Aboutalebi.
Jubin was working on the topic of bilingualism. Even before we officially met, we accidentally bumped into him in the university corridors. He already knew that I was going to write my thesis with him, and immediately asked what age group I would like to work with. To be honest, I was a little confused, since I hadn’t had time to think about it yet. But I answered that I was interested in the elderly, because the whole world was gradually getting older. At that time, scientists had just begun to study the connection between bilingualism and aging.
The next morning I was already in Jubin’s lab. Our friendship and close collaboration continues to this day, and the topic of bilingualism and aging has become the main focus of my research.
Of course, all the knowledge I received both at school and at the university helped me a lot, but it was not decisive in my development as a scientist. The main thing is the people with whom life brings you together. I was very lucky: my scientific supervisors, family, friends, my fiancée Lisa always accepted and supported me.
On working in Russia: “At HSE, you do science and don’t notice whether you’re in Russia, Italy, or the Philippines”
Dzhubin has a friend and colleague, Andrey Myachikov, a leading research fellow at the HSE Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. Together with another colleague from HSE, Yuri Shtyrov, they offered me to become a link in the collaboration between Milan and Moscow. Andrey won me over by the fact that he specially flew to Milan to meet me long before the competition for a postgraduate position opened. As a result, I received a scholarship from the government and HSE and moved to Moscow for postgraduate study.cognitive science program. At the same time, when I was already getting ready to go to Russia, I received an invitation to Barcelona, I received a prestigious scholarship named after Marie Curie. However, I was so inspired by the collaboration with my future scientific supervisors that I did not even have the thought to consider a new offer and change my decision.
I remember my postgraduate years with great warmth and gratitude. I conducted research at the Center for Neuroeconomics and Cognitive Research, now part of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. I was inspired by the trust that my senior colleagues placed in me, although I was only a young postgraduate student. I felt free and independent as a researcher, but at the same time I could always count on the attention and support of my “seniors.” This allowed me to become a truly mature, independent researcher. Many thanks to my scientific supervisors and staff at the center Andrey Myachikov, Yuri Shtyrov, Victoria Moiseyeva, Anna Shestakova for always believing in me.
The Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences became my home, and I didn’t feel like a foreigner who found himself in a Russian academic environment. Thanks to the opportunities that HSE provides, you do science and don’t notice whether you are in Russia, Italy or the Philippines.
After my PhD, I entered the postdoc program. Now I am probably one of the oldest employees of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. I recently received a very prestigious Marie Curie fellowship and left Russia for a while. But I continue to work on my projects remotely, supervising several master’s and PhD students. I have seen for myself how people’s attitudes change if they see that you are confident and passionate about what you do. This evokes respect and even admiration. Therefore, one of the important tasks for me is to support young researchers, I try to give them confidence, give them the opportunity to be proud of themselves.
On modern neuroscience, bilingualism and aging: “I may say something unpleasant, but the brain begins to age at 20–25 years old!”
The main topic of my research is cognitive aging. I study how a person’s lifestyle affects the aging process, what factors can slow it down. I may say something unpleasant now, but the brain begins to age at 20-25, so it is very important to know where to invest in order to ensure a successful old age.
One of the powerful factors that slow down cognitive aging is bilingualism. Bilingualism is not necessarily fluency in two languages from birth. The modern approach interprets it as knowledge of a second language at least at some level. Even if you start learning a foreign language as an adult, you will become bilingual and replenish your cognitive reserve.
The cognitive reserve is the savings account of our brain, we replenish it throughout life when we get an education, new skills, play sports. In old age, when the brain requires additional resources to continue its usual activity, it begins to gradually use the funds in this account. If you have managed to accumulate a lot of funds during your life, the brain will be able to spend them for a long time and function normally, despite age-related changes.
Our recent studies have shown that not only the fact of learning a second language, but also its choice can affect the functioning of the brain in old age. It turns out that close languages, that is, similar to each other, such as Spanish and Portuguese, are more useful for the brain in the long term than distant languages, with radically different grammatical and lexical-semantic structure. When we begin to learn a new language, we certainly train our brain, it learns to switch between language systems and not mix them. If the languages are distant, it is more difficult for a person to learn at first, but at the same time he can easily separate his native and foreign languages and not confuse them. If the languages are close, a person learns a new language much easier, but in order not to mix the two systems, the brain has to be constantly tense. That is, when learning Chinese, for example, the brain of Russians is very tense at the beginning, but then relaxes and becomes lazy, but in the case of Belarusian, it is constantly in good shape. So, as a cure for old age, it is more useful to learn related languages.
About the future and dedication of scientists
My colleagues and I are currently working on a large-scale project: a meta-analysis comparing all protective factors in terms of their positive impact on successful aging. I may be biased, but I think one of the most important areas of science is finding solutions to combat neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The number of diagnoses increases every year. We must study the causes and mechanism of the disease well, and then look for appropriate treatment. In this sense, bilingualism is one of the important and, most importantly, economically beneficial tools for the state to combat cognitive impairment in old age.
In research work, it is important for me to feel that with our discoveries and results we make this world a better place. In my opinion, it is the desire to improve the world that should be the goal of a scientist. It is a pity that many people forget about this today.
In a sense, I am an idealist. Science should not pursue selfish commercial goals. The most important part of it is dedication. I hope that I will leave a better world than the one I came into.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.