Professor Louise Brown Nicholls

Psychology

Personal statement

My research is focused on understanding human memory and attention, and how these cognitive abilities are affected by adult ageing. I am also interested in healthy ageing more generally, such as the role of emotion (especially anxiety) and lifestyle factors (such as cognitive engagement) in cognitive performance across the adult lifespan, and the impacts of cognitive ability in health-related behaviours (e.g., vaccine hesitancy).

My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Chief Scientist Office, the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

I am a member of the ESRC's Peer Review College, and serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Cognition. I have previously served on the boards of Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio journal) and Frontiers in Psychology: Cognitive Science.

I am founding Director of the Strathclyde Ageing Network, comprising ~100 of Strathclyde's multidisciplinary ageing-related researchers and key external partners, and I lead the new Scottish Cognitive Ageing Network. I am also a member of the planning group of the Scottish Older People's Assembly. My other external partners include Alzheimer Scotland, Generations Working Together, and U3A.

Qualifications/Experience

Following my BA(hons) in Psychology in 2001, I completed my MSc in Psychological Research Methods and a research assistant post, both at University of Stirling. I then gained my PhD in cognitive ageing at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2007. I benefited from significant experience as a postdoctoral fellow, first at Glasgow Caledonian University and then at The University of Edinburgh, where I worked on European Research Council and Leverhulme Trust-funded research projects. I then became a Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University in 2011, where I founded my Memory & Ageing Lab. Having originally studied at Strathclyde for my undergraduate degree, I was delighted to return for a Chancellor's Fellowship in 2014. I was promoted to full Professor in Spring 2024.

I have served on ethics committees at multiple institutions for approximately 10 years in total. I have carried out other core University administrative roles over the years, such as University Senate member, department Postgraduate Research Director, and department research committee member.

I am a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the Psychonomic Society, and the Higher Education Academy. I am also a Chartered Psychologist with the BPS.

Expertise

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Area of Expertise

- human memory and attention

- visual and spatial short-term ("working") memory

- cognitive ageing

- lifestyle effects on cognition

- the role of cognition in health, especially regarding ageing

- emotional impacts on cognition, especially anxiety.

Prize And Awards

Fellow of the British Psychological Society: Recipient; 6/3/2024
Fellow of the Psychnomic Society: Recipient; 5/2018
Chartered Psychologist: Recipient; 6/2015
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy: Recipient; 2013
Elected Member of the Experimental Psychology Society: Recipient; 1/2011

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

A semantic strategy instruction intervention aimed at boosting young and older adults’ visual working memory capacity: Hart Rebecca, Nicholls Louise A Brown; Memory & Cognition (2025); https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-024-01676-8
A systematic review of the relationships amongst older adults' cognitive and motor speech abilities: Manderson Laura, Krzeczkowska Anna, Kuschmann Anja, Lowit Anja, Nicholls Louise A Brown; Journal of Communication Disorders Vol 115 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106510
Towards theoretically understanding how long-term memory semantics can support working memory performance: Hart Rebecca, Logie Robert H, Nicholls Louise A Brown; Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Vol 78, pp. 370-390 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218241284414
Use of everyday memory strategies predicts subjective cognitive abilities across the adult lifespan: Nicholls Louise A Brown, Lukas Julia-Marie, Crawford Linzi, Jackson Lazaro; Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting (2024)
Age moderates associations between dementia worry and subjective cognition: Spalding David M, Hart Rebecca, Henderson Robyn, Nicholls Louise A Brown; Cognition and Emotion (2024); https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2024.2371095
Multimodal coding and strategic approach in visual working memory and ageing: Nicholls Louise A B; The 4th International Conference on Working Memory (2024)

More publications

Teaching

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Teaching

My teaching is focused in the areas of cognition and the psychology of ageing. I am the class leader of the honours topic "psychology and ageing", and I teach in this area in the level 3 Development class (social and cognitive ageing). I supervise undergraduate, masters, and PhD level research (see Research section for further information).

I have previously taught on the level 2 Social & Health class, and the level 3 Cognition class. I have also been the School Director of Postgraduate Research (2020-2023), having been Deputy Director for 6 years prior to that.

Research

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Research Interests

My core interest is in cognitive abilities across the adult lifespan, especially short-term ("working") memory and attention mechanisms, and processing and retaining visual information. A current area of focus is upon the ability to associate ("bind") visual information in working memory, and the ways in which this may be affected by ageing. I am also interested in how young and older adults can maintain and even improve their cognitive functioning, for example by using cognitive strategies or by considering health or lifestyle factors such as sleep or level of cognitive engagement. Some of my research on binding and cognitive strategies has been funded by research grants awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Another line of research concerns the impacts of emotion, particularly anxiety, on attention and working memory.

Please note, I am currently unavailable to take on new PhD researchers.

My lab group comprises the following researchers:

Dr Gerard Campbell (postdoctoral researcher, lead supervisor; from April 2024). Topic: 'Strategy training to support healthy cognitive ageing: behavioural, neuroimaging, and real-world investigations' (ESRC-funded research project). With M. Parra Rodriguez, R. Allen (Leeds), M. Burke (Leeds), & C. von Bastian (Sheffield).
Aimee Donaldson (undergraduate intern, supervisor; from Dec. 2024). Topic: young and older adults' strategies during visual working memory.
Seamas Farrell (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2023). Topic: 'sleep and brain health: the roles of sleep duration and daytime alertness in cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan' (ESRC- and Alzheimer Scotland-funded). With L. Fleming.
Rebecca Hart (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2023). Topic: 'a mixed-methods investigation of young and older adults’ strategies during age-sensitive visual working memory: co-developing a novel strategy training intervention' (ESRC-funded). With M. Parra Rodriguez.
Laura Manderson (lead PhD supervisor; from Oct. 2020). Topic: 'ageing and communication: Understanding the roles of cognition, speech production, and social participation' (ESRC-funded). With A. Kuschmann and A. Lowit.
Vanshika Sharma (research assistant, co-supervisor; from Jan. 2025). Assessing new digital tools to deliver exercise programmes in care home settings. With C. Donnachie and M. Grealy.

Key lab Alumni:

Abigail Paterson (PhD co-supervisor; 2018-2023). Topic: ‘implementation intentions, cognitive abilities and self-harm’ (ESRC-funded). With M. Elliott and S. Rasmussen. Went on to work with the Scottish Government.
Dr Anna Krzeczkowska (lead PhD supervisor; 2017-2022). Topic: ‘intergenerational engagement interventions for enhanced cognition in older age’ (University-funded). Went on to work with the Scottish Government (data analysis) and now a researcher at University of Edinburgh.
Dr David Spalding (lead PhD supervisor; 2017-2021). Topic: ‘the impact of anxiety on visual attention and working memory’ (University-funded). Went on to an MRC-funded postdoctoral research position at King's College London.
Jihad Diab (MSc dissertation supervisor; 2020-21). Went on to work as a research assistant with the Risk Management Authority.
Dr Rebecca Wagstaff (PhD co-supervisor; 2015-21). Topic: ‘mechanisms of cognitive and language impairment in Parkinson's Disease’ (University funded). Went on to work as a Research Officer with the Risk Management Authority.
Dr Allyson Gallant (research assistant co-supervisor; 2020). Went on to complete a PhD in Health at Dalhousie University.
Milan Zarchev (intern supervisor; 2019). Went on to study for a masters and then PhD at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Catherine Smith (intern supervisor; 2018). Went on to study primary education at University of Glasgow.
Martin Nemec (intern supervisor; 2018). Went on to study at postgraduate level at King's College London.
Dr Brad English (intern supervisor; 2013). Went on to become a Clinical Psychologist (Nottingham NHS).
Dr Catherine Blackburn (intern supervisor; 2012). Went on to become Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University.
Dr Elaine Niven (postdoctoral researcher lead supervisor; 2011-12). Went on to become Senior Lecturer in Psychology at University of Dundee.