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Cognitive contributions to gait and falls: evidence and implications
Amboni M, Barone P, Hausdorff JM.. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society, 2013-09-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Dementia and gait impairments often coexist in older adults and patients with neurodegenerative disease. Both conditions represent independent risk factors for falls. The relationship between cognitive function and gait has recently received increasing attention. Gait is no longer considered merely automated motor activity but rather an activity that requires executive function and attention as well as judgment of external and internal cues. In this review, we intend to: (1) summarize and synthesize the experimental, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging evidence that supports the role played by cognition in the control of gait; and (2) briefly discuss the implications deriving from the interplay between cognition and gait. In recent years, the dual task paradigm has been widely used as an experimental method to explore the interplay between gait and cognition. Several neuropsychological investigations have also demonstrated that walking relies on the use of several cognitive domains, including executive-attentional function, visuospatial abilities, and even memory resources. A number of morphological and functional neuroimaging studies have offered additional evidence supporting the relationship between gait and cognitive resources. Based on the findings from 3 lines of studies, it appears that a growing body of evidence indicates a pivotal role of cognition in gait control and fall prevention. The interplay between higher-order neural function and gait has a number of clinical implications, ranging from integrated assessment tools to possible innovative lines of interventions, including cognitive therapy for falls prevention on one hand and walking program for reducing dementia risk on the other.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Amboni, M., Barone, P., & Hausdorff, J. M. (2013). Cognitive contributions to gait and falls: evidence and implications. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.25674
Vancouver
Amboni M, Barone P, Hausdorff JM. Cognitive contributions to gait and falls: evidence and implications. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 2013. doi:10.1002/mds.25674. PMID: 24132840.
BibTeX
@article{amboni2013-24132840,
author = {Amboni, M. and Barone, P. and Hausdorff, J. M.},
title = {{Cognitive contributions to gait and falls: evidence and implications}},
journal = {Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1002/mds.25674},
pmid = {24132840},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.25674}
}
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Key findings
- Several neuropsychological investigations have also demonstrated that walking relies on the use of several cognitive domains, including executive-attentional function, visuospatial abilities, and even memory resources.
Why it matters
This review of existing studies reports that walking depends on cognitive abilities such as attention, executive function, visuospatial skills, and memory, not just automatic movement. It does not test any treatment or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 54/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Movement Disorders: journal h-index 281 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 565 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 37.7 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 76.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 127 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jeffrey M. Hausdorff: h-index 116 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24132840) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
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