A common cognitive profile in elderly fallers and in patients with Parkinson's disease: The prominence of impaired executive function and attention

Jeffrey M. Hausdorff; Glen M. Doniger; Shmuel Springer; Galit Yogev; Nir Giladi; Ely S. Simon

doi:10.1080/03610730600875817

A common cognitive profile in elderly fallers and in patients with Parkinson's disease: The prominence of impaired executive function and attention

Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Glen M. Doniger, Shmuel Springer, Galit Yogev, Nir Giladi, Ely S. Simon

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The present study examined the cognitive profile of elderly fallers relative to healthy elderly controls and patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), a positive-control group, using a computerized battery. Fallers performed more poorly than controls on executive function, attention, and motor skills, but performed comparably on memory, information processing and the Mini-Mental State Examination. A similar profile was evident for PD patients. However, unlike PD patients, fallers were abnormally inconsistent in their reaction times. These findings indicate that elderly fallers may have a unique cognitive processing deficit (i.e., variability of response timing) and underscore the importance of executive function and attention as potential targets for fall risk screening and interventions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	411-429
Number of pages	19
Journal	Experimental Aging Research
Volume	32
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03610730600875817
State	Published - 1 Dec 2006
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Received 4 August 2005; accepted 20 October 2005. This work was supported in part by grants from the NIA, NICHD, NCRR, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, and the National Parkinson Foundation. The authors thank Prof. David Zucker for statistical support and Talia Herman and Leor Gruendlinger for invaluable assistance. Address correspondence to Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, PhD, Harvard Medical School Division on Aging, 643 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Aging
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
General Psychology
Geriatrics and Gerontology

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10.1080/03610730600875817

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title = "A common cognitive profile in elderly fallers and in patients with Parkinson's disease: The prominence of impaired executive function and attention",

abstract = "The present study examined the cognitive profile of elderly fallers relative to healthy elderly controls and patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), a positive-control group, using a computerized battery. Fallers performed more poorly than controls on executive function, attention, and motor skills, but performed comparably on memory, information processing and the Mini-Mental State Examination. A similar profile was evident for PD patients. However, unlike PD patients, fallers were abnormally inconsistent in their reaction times. These findings indicate that elderly fallers may have a unique cognitive processing deficit (i.e., variability of response timing) and underscore the importance of executive function and attention as potential targets for fall risk screening and interventions.",

author = "Hausdorff, {Jeffrey M.} and Doniger, {Glen M.} and Shmuel Springer and Galit Yogev and Nir Giladi and Simon, {Ely S.}",

note = "Funding Information: Received 4 August 2005; accepted 20 October 2005. This work was supported in part by grants from the NIA, NICHD, NCRR, the Parkinson{\textquoteright}s Disease Foundation, and the National Parkinson Foundation. The authors thank Prof. David Zucker for statistical support and Talia Herman and Leor Gruendlinger for invaluable assistance. Address correspondence to Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, PhD, Harvard Medical School Division on Aging, 643 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. E-mail: [email protected]",

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AU - Yogev, Galit

AU - Giladi, Nir

AU - Simon, Ely S.

N1 - Funding Information: Received 4 August 2005; accepted 20 October 2005. This work was supported in part by grants from the NIA, NICHD, NCRR, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, and the National Parkinson Foundation. The authors thank Prof. David Zucker for statistical support and Talia Herman and Leor Gruendlinger for invaluable assistance. Address correspondence to Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, PhD, Harvard Medical School Division on Aging, 643 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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A common cognitive profile in elderly fallers and in patients with Parkinson's disease: The prominence of impaired executive function and attention

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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