Preventing falls in older adults: Can improving cognitive capacity help?

Abstract

Evidence linking physical health with beneficial cognitive outcomes is well established. However, the potential bi-directional nature of this relationship is far less explored. Falls-related injuries are frequently caused by age-related deterioration of walking gait, and cost the NHS in Britain ~£1 billion per annum. Interventions capable of reducing falls risk are significantly beneficial from both health and economical perspectives. In recent years, evidence has emerged suggesting that the cognitive capacity required for executive function and motor stabilisation share a fundamentally limited pool of neural resources. In tandem, research suggesting that computer-based cognitive training can—via neuro-plastic mechanisms—stimulate executive function enhancements. Subsequently, this suggests the possibility that cognitive training can positively impact motor control functions, such as walking gait. Thereby raising the potential that movement coordination may be enhanced through cognitive training interventions. This novel perspective is just beginning to be explored within the literature, and some intriguing evidence already exists. Accordingly, the objective of this discussion is to review the rationale and evidence underpinning the suggested linkage between cognitive resources and walking gait and to suggest how such interventions could provide novel, impactful and financially efficient practical applications for reducing the fall risk in older adults.

Keywords

• cognitive training
• cognitive capacity
• walking gait
• falls