Dr Sophie Andrews

Dr Sophie Andrews

Conjoint Lecturer
Science
School of Psychology

Sophie Andrews is a Senior Research Fellow – DECRA Fellow at UNSW Psychology, and a conjoint Research Fellow at NeuRA. She is a cognitive neuroscientist and registered clinical neuropsychologist.

Sophie’s research is focused on how lifestyle can improve brain and cognitive health and reduce risk for dementia, and how best to support people to change their lifestyle habits. Her current research, supported by a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council, is focused on the neuroscience and neuropsychology of habit formation and change in ageing, by combing neuroimaging, cognitive and psychological approaches. She is interested in how improved knowledge of the habit formation process can be used to design better habit-based lifestyle behaviour change interventions for cognitive health and healthy ageing.

Sophie joined NeuRA in 2019 from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne, where she previously completed a fellowship from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, investigating the effects of exercise on neuroplasticity and cognition in Huntington’s disease. Her additional research interests include investigating how non-pharmacological approaches (including lifestyle change and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques) can be used to maintain brain and cognitive health in healthy ageing and neurodegenerative disease, as well as understanding the relationships between neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

In 2013, Sophie completed a DPsych (Clinical Neuropsychology) at Monash University. Her doctoral thesis investigated the mirror neuron system in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using transcranial magnetic stimulation and EEG.

Location
Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) Margarete Ainsworth Building Barker Street, Randwick Sydney NSW 2031 Australia
  • Book Chapters | 2017
    Stout JC; Andrews SC; Glikmann-Johnston Y, 2017, 'Cognitive assessment in Huntington disease clinical drug trials.', in , pp. 227 - 244, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801893-4.00019-5
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Ambrens M; Macniven R; Perram A; Andrews S; Hawley-Hague H; Razee H; Todd C; Valenzuela T; Delbaere K, 2024, 'How Perceptions of Aging Influence Physical Activity and Exercise in Older Age: Exploring the Behavior of People Aged 70+ Years Engaged in Fall Prevention Activities', Journal of Applied Gerontology, 43, pp. 1386 - 1396, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/07334648241238315
    Journal articles | 2024
    Amos JG; Zheng L; Eramudugolla R; Andrews SC; Anstey KJ, 2024, 'A Scoping Survey to Inform Design of Digital Dementia Risk Reduction Interventions for Adults Concerned about their Cognitive Health', Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, 8, pp. 697 - 708, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/ADR-230160
    Journal articles | 2024
    Atkins KJ; Andrews SC; Stout JC; Chong TTJ, 2024, 'The effect of Huntington's disease on cognitive and physical motivation.', Brain, 147, pp. 2449 - 2458, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae023
    Journal articles | 2024
    Campbell AJ; Anijärv TE; Pace T; Treacy C; Lagopoulos J; Hermens DF; Levenstein JM; Andrews SC, 2024, 'Resting-state EEG correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study.', Neurobiol Aging, 144, pp. 68 - 77, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.005
    Journal articles | 2024
    Pace T; Levenstein JM; Anijärv TE; Campbell AJ; Treacy C; Hermens DF; Andrews SC, 2024, 'Modifiable dementia risk associated with smaller white matter volume and altered 1/f aperiodic brain activity: cross-sectional insights from the LEISURE study.', Age Ageing, 53, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae243
    Journal articles | 2024
    Treacy C; Campbell AJ; Anijärv TE; Lagopoulos J; Hermens DF; Andrews SC; Levenstein JM, 2024, 'Structural brain correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing: Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study.', Neurobiol Aging, 144, pp. 93 - 103, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.010
    Journal articles | 2023
    Andrews SC; Kämpf L; Curtin D; Hinder M; Wenderoth N; Stout JC; Coxon JP, 2023, 'A single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise improves motor learning in premanifest and early Huntington's disease.', Front Psychol, 14, pp. 1089333, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1089333
    Journal articles | 2023
    Curtin D; Cadwallader CJ; Taylor EM; Andrews SC; Stout JC; Hendrikse JJ; Chong TT-J; Coxon JP, 2023, 'Ageing attenuates exercise-enhanced motor cortical plasticity.', J Physiol, 601, pp. 5733 - 5750, http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/JP285243
    Journal articles | 2023
    Treacy C; Levenstein JM; Jefferies A; Metse AP; Schaumberg MA; Villani A; Boucas AP; Hermens DF; Lagopoulos J; Andrews SC, 2023, 'The LEISURE Study: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol for a Multi-Modal Lifestyle Intervention Study to Reduce Dementia Risk in Healthy Older Adults.', J Alzheimers Dis, 94, pp. 841 - 856, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JAD-230193
    Journal articles | 2022
    Andrews SC; Curtin D; Coxon JP; Stout JC, 2022, 'Motor cortex plasticity response to acute cardiorespiratory exercise and intermittent theta-burst stimulation is attenuated in premanifest and early Huntington’s disease', Scientific Reports, 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04378-2
    Journal articles | 2022
    Andrews SC; Parekh D; Brady B; Delbaere K; Huque MH; Killcross S; Anstey KJ, 2022, 'Associations Between Planned Exercise, Walking, Incidental Physical Activity, and Habit Strength in Older People: A Cross-Sectional Study', Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 30, pp. 813 - 823, http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/japa.2021-0284
    Journal articles | 2022
    Atkins KJ; Friel CP; Andrews SC; Chong TTJ; Stout JC; Quinn L, 2022, 'A qualitative examination of apathy and physical activity in Huntington's and Parkinson's disease', Neurodegenerative Disease Management, 12, pp. 129 - 139, http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/nmt-2021-0047
    Journal articles | 2021
    Andrews SC; Langbehn DR; Craufurd D; Durr A; Leavitt BR; Roos RA; Tabrizi SJ; Stout JC, 2021, 'Apathy predicts rate of cognitive decline over 24 months in premanifest Huntington's disease', Psychological Medicine, 51, pp. 1338 - 1344, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720000094
    Journal articles | 2021
    Atkins KJ; Andrews SC; Chong TTJ; Stout JC, 2021, 'Multidimensional Apathy: The Utility of the Dimensional Apathy Scale in Huntington's Disease', Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 8, pp. 361 - 370, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.13147
    Journal articles | 2021
    McLaren B; Andrews SC; Glikmann-Johnston Y; Mercieca EC; Murray NWG; Loy C; Bellgrove MA; Stout JC, 2021, 'Feasibility and initial validation of ‘HD-Mobile’, a smartphone application for remote self-administration of performance-based cognitive measures in Huntington’s disease', Journal of Neurology, 268, pp. 590 - 601, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-10169-y
    Journal articles | 2021
    McLaren B; Drummond SPA; Glikmann-Johnston Y; Loy C; Bellgrove MA; Stout JC; Andrews SC, 2021, 'Greater Time in Bed and Less Physical Activity Associate With Poorer Cognitive Functioning Performance in Huntington’s Disease', Neuropsychology, 35, pp. 656 - 667, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000757
    Journal articles | 2021
    Quinlan C; Rattray B; Pryor D; Northey JM; Coxon J; Cherbuin N; Andrews SC, 2021, 'A Short-Term Intervention of High-Intensity Exercise and Anodal-tDCS on Motor Learning in Middle-Aged Adults: An RCT', Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, pp. 661079, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.661079
    Journal articles | 2020
    Andrews S; Parekh D; Brady B; Delbaere K; Killcross S; Anstey K, 2020, 'Do Automatic Habits Predict Physical Activity Engagement in Older People?', Innovation in Aging, 4, pp. 496 - 496, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1602
    Journal articles | 2020
    Andrews SC; Curtin D; Hawi Z; Wongtrakun J; Stout JC; Coxon JP, 2020, 'Intensity Matters: High-intensity Interval Exercise Enhances Motor Cortex Plasticity More Than Moderate Exercise', Cerebral Cortex, 30, pp. 101 - 112, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhz075
    Journal articles | 2020
    Andrews SC; Parekh D; Brady B; Delbaere K; Killcross S; Anstey KJ, 2020, 'The role of automatic habit in physical activity behaviours in older people: A new target for lifestyle interventions for dementia risk reduction?', Alzheimer's & Dementia, 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/alz.047510
    Journal articles | 2020
    Atkins KJ; Andrews SC; Stout JC; Chong TTJ, 2020, 'Dissociable Motivational Deficits in Pre-manifest Huntington's Disease', Cell Reports Medicine, 1, pp. 100152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2020.100152
    Journal articles | 2019
    Andrews SJ; McFall GP; Dixon RA; Cherbuin N; Eramudugolla R; Anstey KJ; Andrews S, 2019, 'Alzheimer's Environmental and Genetic Risk Scores are Differentially Associated with General Cognitive Ability and Dementia Severity', Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 33, pp. 95 - 103, http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/wad.0000000000000292
    Journal articles | 2019
    Farrell HJ; Andrews SC; Ryan NP; Davis M-C; Gordon S; Stout JC; Fisher F, 2019, 'Cognitive Fitness to Drive in Huntington's Disease: Assessing the Clinical Utility of DriveSafe DriveAware.', J Huntingtons Dis, 8, pp. 87 - 95, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JHD-180323
    Journal articles | 2019
    Flower M; Lomeikaite V; Ciosi M; Cumming S; Morales F; Lo K; Hensman Moss D; Jones L; Holmans P; Monckton DG; Tabrizi SJ; Kraus P; Hoffman R; Tobin A; Borowsky B; Keenan S; Whitlock KB; Queller S; Campbell C; Wang C; Langbehn D; Axelson E; Johnson H; Acharya T; Cash DM; Frost C; Jones R; Jurgens C; Hart EPT; Van Der Grond J; Witjes- Ane MNN; Roos RAC; Dumas EM; Van Den Bogaard SJA; Stopford C; Craufurd D; Callaghan J; Arran N; Rosas DD; Lee S; Monaco W; O'Regan A; Milchman C; Frajman E; Labuschagne I; Stout J; Campbell M; Andrews SC; Bechtel N; Reilmann R; Bohlen S; Kennard C; Berna C; Hicks S; Durr A; Pourchot C; Bardinet E; Nigaud K; Valabrègue R; Lehericy S; Marelli C; Jauffret C; Justo D; Leavitt B; Decolongon J; Sturrock A; Coleman A; Dar Santos R; Patel A; Gibbard C; Whitehead D; Wild E; Owen G; Crawford H; Malone I; Lahiri N; Fox NC; Hobbs NZ; Scahill RI; Ordidge R; Pepple T; Read J; Say MJ; Landwehrmeyer B; Daidj F; Bassez G; Lignier B; Couppey F; Delmas S; Deux JF; Hankiewicz K; Dogan C; Minier L; Chevalier P; Hamadouche A; Catt M; Van Hees V; Catt S; Schwalber A; Dittrich J, 2019, 'MSH3 modifies somatic instability and disease severity in Huntington's and myotonic dystrophy type 1', Brain, 142, pp. 1876 - 1886, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz115
    Journal articles | 2019
    Osborne-Crowley K; Andrews SC; Labuschagne I; Nair A; Scahill R; Craufurd D; Tabrizi SJ; Stout JC; TRACK-HD Investigators , 2019, 'Apathy Associated With Impaired Recognition of Happy Facial Expressions in Huntington's Disease.', J Int Neuropsychol Soc, 25, pp. 453 - 461, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617718001224
    Journal articles | 2018
    Andrews SC; Craufurd D; Durr A; Leavitt BR; Roos RA; Tabrizi SJ; Stout JC, 2018, 'Executive impairment is associated with unawareness of neuropsychiatric symptoms in premanifest and early Huntington's disease.', Neuropsychology, 32, pp. 958 - 965, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000479
    Journal articles | 2018
    Kempnich CL; Andrews SC; Fisher F; Wong D; Georgiou-Karistianis N; Stout JC, 2018, 'Emotion recognition correlates with social-neuropsychiatric dysfunction in huntington's disease', Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 24, pp. 417 - 423, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617717001308
    Journal articles | 2018
    Kordsachia CC; Labuschagne I; Andrews SC; Stout JC, 2018, 'Diminished facial EMG responses to disgusting scenes and happy and fearful faces in Huntington's disease.', Cortex, 106, pp. 185 - 199, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.05.019
    Journal articles | 2018
    Wasser CI; Evans F; Kempnich C; Glikmann-Johnston Y; Andrews SC; Thyagarajan D; Stout JC, 2018, 'Emotion recognition in Parkinson's disease: Static and dynamic factors.', Neuropsychology, 32, pp. 230 - 234, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000400
    Journal articles | 2017
    Andrews SC; Pavlis A; Staios M; Fisher F, 2017, 'Which behaviours? Identifying the most common and burdensome behaviour changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.', Psychol Health Med, 22, pp. 483 - 492, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1164871
    Journal articles | 2017
    Andrews SC; Staios M; Howe J; Reardon K; Fisher F, 2017, 'Multimodal emotion processing deficits are present in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.', Neuropsychology, 31, pp. 304 - 310, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000323
    Journal articles | 2017
    Fisher F; Philpott A; Andrews SC; Maule R; Douglas J, 2017, 'Characterizing social communication changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.', Int J Lang Commun Disord, 52, pp. 137 - 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12267
    Journal articles | 2017
    Jona CMH; Labuschagne I; Mercieca E-C; Fisher F; Gluyas C; Stout JC; Andrews SC, 2017, 'Families Affected by Huntington's Disease Report Difficulties in Communication, Emotional Involvement, and Problem Solving.', J Huntingtons Dis, 6, pp. 169 - 177, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JHD-170250
    Journal articles | 2017
    Moss DJH; Pardiñas AF; Langbehn D; Lo K; Leavitt BR; Roos R; Durr A; Mead S; TRACK-HD investigators ; REGISTRY investigators ; Holmans P; Jones L; Tabrizi SJ, 2017, 'Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study.', Lancet Neurol, 16, pp. 701 - 711, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30161-8
    Journal articles | 2016
    Andrews SC; Craufurd D; Tabrizi S; Stout JC, 2016, 'G1 Executive task performance and anxiety are associated with self-awareness of neuropsychiatric symptoms in huntington’s disease', Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 87, pp. A54.2 - A55, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2016-314597.152
    Journal articles | 2016
    Andrews SC; Enticott PG; Hoy KE; Thomson RH; Fitzgerald PB, 2016, 'Reduced mu suppression and altered motor resonance in euthymic bipolar disorder: Evidence for a dysfunctional mirror system?', Soc Neurosci, 11, pp. 60 - 71, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2015.1029140
    Journal articles | 2016
    Philpott AL; Andrews SC; Staios M; Churchyard A; Fisher F, 2016, 'Emotion Evaluation and Social Inference Impairments in Huntington's Disease.', J Huntingtons Dis, 5, pp. 175 - 183, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JHD-160190
    Journal articles | 2016
    Stout JC; Glikmann-Johnston Y; Andrews SC, 2016, 'Cognitive assessment strategies in Huntington's disease research.', J Neurosci Methods, 265, pp. 19 - 24, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.12.007
    Journal articles | 2015
    Andrews SC; Domínguez JF; Mercieca E-C; Georgiou-Karistianis N; Stout JC, 2015, 'Cognitive interventions to enhance neural compensation in Huntington's disease.', Neurodegener Dis Manag, 5, pp. 155 - 164, http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/nmt.14.58
    Journal articles | 2015
    Andrews SC; Enticott PG; Hoy KE; Thomson RH; Fitzgerald PB, 2015, 'No evidence for mirror system dysfunction in schizophrenia from a multimodal TMS/EEG study.', Psychiatry Res, 228, pp. 431 - 440, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.067
    Journal articles | 2012
    Fisher F; Andrews S; Churchyard A; Mathers S, 2012, 'Home or Residential Care? The Role of Behavioral and Psychosocial Factors in Determining Discharge Outcomes for Inpatients with Huntington's Disease.', J Huntingtons Dis, 1, pp. 187 - 193, http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JHD-120022
    Journal articles | 2011
    Andrews SC; Hoy KE; Enticott PG; Daskalakis ZJ; Fitzgerald PB, 2011, 'Improving working memory: the effect of combining cognitive activity and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.', Brain Stimul, 4, pp. 84 - 89, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2010.06.004
  • Preprints | 2023
    Curtin D; Cadwallader CJ; Taylor EM; Andrews SC; Stout JC; Hendrikse JJ; Chong TT-J; Coxon JP, 2023, Ageing attenuates exercise-enhanced motor cortical plasticity, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.14.553314
    Preprints | 2021
    Andrews SC; Curtin D; Coxon JP; Stout JC, 2021, Motor Cortex Plasticity Response to Acute Cardiorespiratory Exercise and Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation is Attenuated in Premanifest and Early Huntington’s Disease, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-636684/v1
    Conference Papers | 2018
    McLaren B; Andrews SC; Glikmann-Johnston Y; Mercieca E-C; Bellgrove MA; Loy C; Drummond SPA; Stout JC, 2018, 'F29 Validation of a novel smartphone-based cogntive assessment tool designed for remote assessment of cognitive functioning in huntington’s disease', in Clinical studies, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, pp. A50.1 - A50, presented at EHDN 2018 Plenary Meeting, Vienna, Austria, Programme and Abstracts, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2018-ehdn.133
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Osborne-Crowley K; Andrews SC; Labuschagne I; Nair A; Scahill R; Craufurd D; Tabrizi SJ; Stout JC, 2018, 'F45 Apathy associated with impaired recognition of happy facial expressions in huntington’s disease', in Clinical studies, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, pp. A56.1 - A56, presented at EHDN 2018 Plenary Meeting, Vienna, Austria, Programme and Abstracts, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2018-ehdn.149

2021-2025                      ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award ($437,000 - sole CI)

                                      Habit formation and change in ageing: Developing a neuropsychological model                                   

 

2020 – 2022                   Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration – Dementia Australia Research Foundation Pilot Grant ($75,000 - CIA) 

                                       Harnessing habits to increase physical activity in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Cognitive Decline

 

2020                                   UNSW Ageing Futures Institute Seed Project Grant ($39,000 - CIH)   

                                            Eye biomarkers for cognitive impairment

 

2019                                  UNSW Ageing Futures Institute Seed Project Grant ($30,000 - CIA)

                                           Investigating the role of habit in maintaining physical activity in older people.

 

2019                                 UNSW Ageing Futures Institute Seed Project Grant ($29,126 - CID)

                                          To develop an algorithm using different anxiety and stress-related factors to predict cognitive decline in older adults.

 

2016 – 2019                     Huntington's Disease Society of America HD Human Biology Project Fellowship ($200,536 - sole CI)

                                         Exercise and brain stimulation as modifiers of neuroplasticity in HD

 

2016 – 2018                     Dementia Collaborative Research Centre Project Grant ($49,074 - CIC)

                                         Remote Assessment of Cognition in Huntington’s Disease: Assessing day-to-day variability and relationship to sleep and physical activity levels.