Dr Lizzie Bradford
Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience
Biography
I completed my undergraduate Psychology degree (BSc (Hons) Psychology) at the University of Kent, Canterbury, U.K., before completing an MSc in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K. I then continued my postgraduate studies at the University of St Andrews, completing a PhD in Social Cognitive Neuroscience. Following my PhD, I spent four years working as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Kent, on a project exploring the cognitive basis of social communication across the lifespan, followed by a few years as an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Psychology at the University of Dundee. I have also been a visiting researcher at Peking University, Beijing, China.
I joined the University of St Andrews as an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Cognitive Neuroscience in Autumn 2024.
Research areas
Social communication plays an integral part of our daily lives; whether communicating with a friend or stranger, we are constantly computing and evaluating mental states of both ourselves and our interactive partners. This ability to consider other people’s mental states - amongst other key capacities - is typically referred to using the umbrella term 'social cognition'. These social cognitive abilities are one of the main focuses of research in the Interacting Minds Lab, exploring social cognition from multiple perspectives, including the cognitive and neural underpinnings of social cognition, developmental perspectives, as well as cultural and social factors that may play an influential role.
Selected publications
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Open access
Neural empathy mechanisms are shared for physical and social pain, and increase from adolescence to older adulthood
Ferguson, H., DeLillo, M., Woodrow-Hill, C., Foley, R. & Bradford, E., 4 Nov 2024, In: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 19, 1, 17 p., nsae080.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The Cognitive Basis of Perspective-Taking Across Adulthood: An Eye-Tracking Study Using the Director Task.
Bradford, E., Brunsdon, V. E. A. & Ferguson, H., 2023, In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Social interactions in old age
Brunsdon, V. A. E., Bradford, L. & Ferguson, H. J., 30 Jun 2021, The cognitive basis of social interaction across the lifespan. Ferguson, H. J. & Bradford, E. E. F. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 117-146 30 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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The cognitive basis of social interaction across the lifespan
Ferguson, H. J. (Editor) & Bradford, L. (Editor), 30 Jun 2021, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 257 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
The developmental trajectories of executive function from adolescence to old age
Ferguson, H. J., Brunsdon, V. E. A. & Bradford, E. E. F., Dec 2021, In: Scientific Reports. 11, 1, 1382.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The future of research on social interaction
Bradford, L., De Lillo, M. & Ferguson, H. J., 30 Jun 2021, The cognitive basis of social interaction across the lifespan. Ferguson, H. J. & Bradford, E. E. F. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 201-228 28 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Tracking developmental differences in real-world social attention across adolescence, young adulthood and older adulthood
De Lillo, M., Foley, R., Fysh, M. C., Stimson, A., Bradford, E. E. F., Woodrow-Hill, C. & Ferguson, H. J., Oct 2021, In: Nature Human Behaviour. 5, 10, p. 1381-1390 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Training executive functions using an adaptive procedure over 21 days (10 training sessions) and an active control group
De Lillo, M., Brunsdon, V. E. A., Bradford, E. E. F., Gasking, F. & Ferguson, H. J., Sept 2021, In: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 74, 9, p. 1579-1594 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Short-term physical training enhances mirror system activation to action observation
Brunsdon, V. E. A., Bradford, E. E. F., Smith, L. & Ferguson, H. J., 2 Jan 2020, In: Social Neuroscience. 15, 1, p. 98-107 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The neural basis of belief-attribution across the lifespan: False-belief reasoning and the N400 effect
Bradford, E. E. F., Brunsdon, V. E. A. & Ferguson, H. J., May 2020, In: Cortex. 126, p. 265-280 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review