Increased cognitive load leads to impaired mobility decisions in seniors at risk for falls. |
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Authors: | Nagamatsu, Lindsay S. Voss, Michelle Neider, Mark B. Gaspar, John G. Handy, Todd C. Kramer, Arthur F. Liu-Ambrose, Teresa Y. L. |
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Abstract: | Successful mobility requires appropriate decision-making. Seniors with reduced executive functioning—such as senior fallers—may be prone to poor mobility judgments, especially under dual-task conditions. We classified participants as “At-Risk” and “Not-At-Risk” for falls using a validated physiological falls-risk assessment. Dual-task performance was assessed in a virtual reality environment where participants crossed a simulated street by walking on a manual treadmill while listening to music or conversing on a phone. Those “At-Risk” experienced more collisions with oncoming cars and had longer crossing times in the Phone condition compared to controls. We conclude that poor mobility judgments during a dual-task leads to unsafe mobility for those at-risk for falls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) |
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Keywords: | aging cognitive load dual-task falls risk impaired mobility decision making seniors |
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