Neuropsychological Predictors of Complex Obstacle Avoidance in Healthy Older Adults

Global cognitive impairment in older adults has been associated with a greater risk of falling, and tripping has been implicated as an important factor in a large percentage of these falls. In order to evaluate the role of specific cognitive domains in tripping and falling, 23 healthy older adults c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Psychological sciences and social sciences, 1995-09, Vol.50B (5), p.P272-P277
Main Authors: Persad, Carol C., Giordani, Bruno, Chen, Hsieh-Ching, Ashton-Miller, James A., Alexander, Neil B., Wilson, Christina S., Berent, Stanley, Guire, Kenneth, Schultz, Albert B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Accidents
Aged - psychology
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety
Arousal
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Female
Geriatric psychology
Humans
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male
Memory
Motor ability
Neuropsychological Tests
Older people
Problem Solving
Psychological tests
Psychomotor Performance
Regression Analysis
Space Perception
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Summary:Global cognitive impairment in older adults has been associated with a greater risk of falling, and tripping has been implicated as an important factor in a large percentage of these falls. In order to evaluate the role of specific cognitive domains in tripping and falling, 23 healthy older adults completed basic and complex obstacle avoidance tasks, as well as a battery of neuropsychological tests. Using multiple regression analysis, a select pattern of neuropsychological measures was found to predict the decrement in performance evident as avoidance task complexity increased. Whereas measures of problem solving, response inhibition, general anxiety, and variability in attention were found to be significant predictors (in that order) of the relative decline in successful obstacle avoidance, measures ofvisuo-spatial discrimination and memory did not.
ISSN:1079-5014
1758-5368
DOI:10.1093/geronb/50B.5.P272