Assistant Professor, Programme Director for Psychology

01 449 8642

david.mothersill@ncirl.ie

Research Gate | ORCID | Google Scholar

Key Responsibilities at NCI

• Assistant Professor on Psychology programme (full-time and part-time) - modules including Biological Bases of Behaviour and Final Year Project
• Thesis supervision for Undergraduate students
• Thesis supervision for Postgraduate students

Education

• PhD in Neuropsychology, Trinity College Dublin
• MSc in Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin
• BA (Hons) in Science, Trinity College Dublin

Academic Experience

• Lecturer in Psychology, National College of Ireland (2019 - present)
• Lecturer in Research Methods, Dublin Business School (2019)
• Lecturer in Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway (2016 - 2019)
• Research Fellow, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin (2014 - 2016)
• Research Assistant, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin (2010)

Research Interests

• Social cognition in psychosis; cognitive remediation therapy to improve cognitive function in psychosis; development of clinical software to measure and track changes in social cognition; eye-tracking during online communication; cognitive genomics; immune function and cognition

Recent Funding

• 2021: ESTHER Ireland Grant 2021 (€8,000). Project Title: An international survey of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards mental, neurological and substance use disorders in Ireland and Liberia. Role: Co-Applicant
• 2018: Royal Irish Academy Charlemont Grants Scheme (€2,500). Project Title: “c-TOM: A computerised theory of mind test for use in basic and translational schizophrenia research”. Role: Applicant
• 2016: Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (€90,000). Project Title: c-TOM: A computerised theory of mind test for use in basic and translational schizophrenia research (Please note that I did not take up this Postdoctoral Fellowship due to commencement of my Lecturer position in NUI Galway in July 2016). Role: Applicant
• 2015: Irish Research Council Ulysses Scheme (€8,000). Project Title: “Understanding and improving social cognition in major mental health disorders”. PI: Prof Gary Donohoe. Role: Co-Applicant
• 2015: Eurolife Young Investigator Travel Award, ‘Emotions in Motion’ Summer School, Medical University of Innsbruck and University of Innsbruck, Austria (€440). Role: Applicant

Esteem

• Awarded an Oral Presentation Award at the Human Disease Mapping Conference, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Dublin, 2014)
• Awarded First Place in the Poster Competition at the Wiring the Brain Conference (Wicklow, 2011)

Key Publications

Published International Journal Articles

• Dossen, S. Benedict, Mulbah, J. Mike, Hargreaves, April, Kumar, Samhita, Mothersill, David, Loughnane, Gerard M., Byrd, Eve, Nyakoon, Angie Tarr, Quoi, Joseph S. and Ebuenyi, Ikenna D. (2024) 'Assessing Stigma Toward Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Liberia: A Population Representative Study'. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 111 (3 Supp). pp. 93-104. ISSN 1476-1645
• Ho, Natalie C. W., Bethlehem, R. A. I., Seidlitz, Jakob, ..., -, Mothersill, David, et al., - (2024) 'Atypical brain aging and its association with working memory performance in major depressive disorder'. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. ISSN 2451-9030
• Mothersill, David, Nguyen, Hau, Loughnane, Gerard M. and Hargreaves, April (2024) 'Mental Health Among Third-Level Students in Ireland during COVID-19'. Irish Journal of Education, 48 (3). pp. 1-19.
• O Brien, Anna, Madden, L.O.B. and Mothersill, David (2024) 'Parental Experiences of Autism Diagnostic Services in Ireland'. MCA Research Journal. (In Press)
• Burke, Tom, Holleran, Laurena, Mothersill, David, Lyons, James, O'Rourke, Nathan, Gleeson, Christina, Cannon, Dara M., McKernan, Declan P., Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John P., Hallahan, Brian, McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2023) 'Bilateral anterior corona radiata microstructure organisation relates to impaired social cognition in schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia Research, 262. pp. 87-94. ISSN 1573-2509
• Dauvermann, M.R., Costello, L., Tronchin, G., Holleran, L., Mothersill, David, Rokita, K.I., Kane, R., Hallahan, B., Corvin, A., Morris, D., McKernan, D.P., Kelly, J., McDonald, C., Donohoe, G. and Cannon, D.M. (2023) 'Childhood trauma is associated with altered white matter microstructural organization in schizophrenia'. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. (In Press)
• Gross, Nicole and Mothersill, David (2023) 'Surveillance Capitalism in Mental Health: When Good Apps Go Rogue (and What Can Be Done about It)'. Social Sciences, 12 (12).
• King, S., Mothersill, David, Holleran, L., Patlola, S., Burke, T., McManus, R., Kenyon, M., McDonald, C., Hallahan, B., Corvin, A., Morris, D. W., Kelly, J., McKernan, D. and Donohoe, G. (2023) 'Early life stress, low-grade systemic inflammation and weaker suppression of the default mode network (DMN) during face processing in Schizophrenia'. Translational Psychiatry. ISSN 2158-3188 (In Press)
• Constantinides, C., Han, L. K. M., Alloza, C., ...Mothersill, D., et al. (2022) 'Brain ageing in schizophrenia: evidence from 26 international cohorts via the ENIGMA Schizophrenia consortium'. Molecular Psychiatry. ISSN 1476-5578. DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01897-w
• Bethlehem, R. A. I., Seidlitz, J., White, S. R. and Mothersill, David et al. (2022) 'Brain charts for the human lifespan'. Nature, 604. pp. 525-533. ISSN 1476-4687. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04554-y
• Burke, Tom, Gleeson, Christina, Holleran, Laurena, Mothersill, David, Holland, Jessica, Costelloe, Laura, Kane, Ruán, McKernan, Declan P., Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John P., Corvin, Aiden P., Hallahan, Brian P., McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2022) 'Corpus Callosum Microstructural Tract Integrity Relates to Longer Emotion Recognition Reaction Time in People with Schizophrenia'. Brain Sciences, 12 (9). pp. 1-14. ISSN 2076-3425. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12091208
• Hargreaves, April, Loughnane, Gerard M., Nguyen, Hau and Mothersill, David (2022) 'Online learning predictors of mental health in third-level students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland'. Journal of American College Health. ISSN 1940-3208. DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2089852 (Epub ahead of print)
• King, Sinead, Mothersill, David, Holleran, Laurena, Patlola, Saahithh, McManus, Ross, Kenyon, Marcus, McDonald, Colm, Hallahan, Brian, Corvin, Aiden, Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John P., McKernan, Declan and Donohoe, Gary (2022) 'Childhood trauma, IL-6 and weaker suppression of the default mode network (DMN) during theory of mind (ToM) performance in schizophrenia'. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Health, 26, 100540. ISSN 2666-3546. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100540
• Dauvermann, Maria R., Mothersill, David, Rokita, Karolina I., King, Sinead, Holleran, Laurena, Kane, Ruan, McKernan, Declan P., Kelly, John P., Morris, Derek W., Corvin, Aiden, Hallahan, Brian, McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2021) 'Changes in Default-Mode Network Associated With Childhood Trauma in Schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 47 (5). pp. 1482-1494. ISSN 1745-1701. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab025
• King, Sinead, Holleran, Laurena, Mothersill, David, Patlola, Saahithh, Rokita, Karolina, McManus, Ross, Kenyon, Marcus, McDonald, Colm, Hallahan, Brian, Corvin, Aiden, Morris, Derek, Kelly, John, McKernan, Declan and Donohoe, Gary (2021) 'Early life Adversity, functional connectivity and cognitive performance in Schizophrenia: The mediating role of IL-6'. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 98. pp. 388-396. ISSN 0889-1591. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.06.016
• Lei, Du, Qin, Kun, Pinaya, Walter H. L., Young, Jonathan, van Amelsvoort, Therese, Marcelis, Machteld, Donohoe, Gary, Mothersill, David O., Corvin, Aiden, Vieira, Sandra, Lui, Su, Scarpazza, Cristina, Arango, Celso, Bullmore, Ed, Gong, Qiyong, McGuire, Philip and Mechelli, Andrea (2022) 'Graph convolutional networks reveal network-level functional dysconnectivity in schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 48 (4). pp. 881-892. ISSN 1745-1701. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac047
• Morgan, Sarah E., Young, Jonathan, Patel, Ameera X., Whitaker, Kirstie J., Scarpazza, Cristina, van Amelsvoort, Therese, Marcelis, Machteld, van Os, Jim, Donohoe, Gary, Mothersill, David, Corvin, Aiden, Arango, Celso, Mechelli, Andrea, van den Heuvel, Martijn, Kahn, Rene S., McGuire, Philip, Brammer, Michael and Bullmore, Edward T. (2021) 'Functional MRI connectivity accurately distinguishes cases with psychotic disorders from healthy controls, based on cortical features associated with neurodevelopment'. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 6 (12). pp. 1125-1134. ISSN 2451-9022. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.05.013
• Mothersill, David, King, Sinead, Holleran, Laurena, Dauvermann, Maria, Patlola, Saahithh, Rokita, Karolina, McManus, Ross, Keynon, Marcus, McDonald, Colm, Hallahan, Brian, Corvin, Aiden, Morris, Derek, Kelly, John, McKernan, Declan and Donohoe, Gary (2021) 'Interleukin 6 predicts increased neural response during face processing in a sample of individuals with schizophrenia and healthy participants: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study'. NeuroImage: Clinical, 32 (102851). pp. 1-8. ISSN 2213-1582. DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102851
• Mothersill, David, Loughnane, Gerard M., Grasso, Gabriela and Hargreaves, April (2021) 'Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours towards schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism: a pilot study'. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. pp. 1-7. ISSN 2051-6967. DOI: 10.1017/ipm.2021.81
• Rokita, Karolina I., Dauvermann, Maria R., Mothersill, David, Holleran, Laurena, Bhatnagar, Paridhi, McNicholas, Áine, McKernan, Declan, Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John, Hallahan, Brian, McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2021) 'Current psychosocial stress, childhood trauma and cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants'. Schizophrenia Research, 237. pp. 115-121. ISSN 0920-9964. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.08.030
• Garcia-Dias, Rafael, Scarpazza, Cristina, Baecker, Lea and Mothersill, David et al. (2020) 'Neuroharmony: A new tool for harmonizing volumetric MRI data from unseen scanners'. NeuroImage, 220, 117127. ISSN 1053-8119. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117127
• Holland, Jessica F., Cosgrove, Donna, Whitton, Laura, Harold, Denise, Corvin, Aiden, Gill, Michael, Mothersill, David O., Morris, Derek W. and Donohoe, Gary (2020) 'Effects of complement gene-set polygenic risk score on brain volume and cortical measures in patients with psychotic disorders and healthy controls'. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 183 (8). pp. 445-453. ISSN 1552-485X. DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32820
• Holleran, L. et al. (2020) 'The Relationship Between White Matter Microstructure and General Cognitive Ability in Patients With Schizophrenia and Healthy Participants in the ENIGMA Consortium'. American Journal of Psychiatry. ISSN 1535-7228, In Press, Accepted Manuscript. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19030225 
• Lei, D. et al. (2020) 'Integrating machining learning and multimodal neuroimaging to detect schizophrenia at the level of the individual'. Human Brain Mapping, 41 (5). pp. 1119-1135. ISSN 1097-0193. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24863
• Rokita, Karolina I., Holleran, Laurena, Dauvermann, Maria R., Mothersill, David, Holland, Jessica, Costelloe, Laura, Kane, Ruan, McKernan, Declan, Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John P., Corvin, Aiden, Hallahan, Brian, McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2020) 'Childhood trauma, brain structure and emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy participants'. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15 (12). pp. 1325-1339. ISSN 1749-5024. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa160
• Rokita, Karolina I., Dauvermann, Maria R., Mothersill, David, Holleran, Laurena, Holland, Jessica, Costelloe, Laura, Cullen, Caroline, Kane, Ruán, McKernan, Declan, Morris, Derek W., Kelly, John, Gill, Michael, Corvin, Aiden, Hallahan, Brian, McDonald, Colm and Donohoe, Gary (2020) 'Childhood trauma, parental bonding, and social cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy adults'. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77 (1). pp. 241-253. ISSN 1097-4679. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.23023
• Holland, J. et al. (2019) 'Beyond C4: Analysis of the complement gene pathway shows enrichment for IQ in patients with psychotic disorders and healthy controls'. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 18 (8). e12602. ISSN 1601-183X. DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12602
• Lei, D. et al. (2019) 'Detecting schizophrenia at the level of the individual: relative diagnostic value of whole-brain images, connectome-wide functional connectivity and graph-based metrics'. Psychological Medicine. ISSN 1469-8978. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291719001934
• Morgan, S. E. et al. (2019) 'Cortical patterning of abnormal morphometric similarity in psychosis is associated with brain expression of schizophrenia-related genes'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (19). pp. 9604-9609. ISSN 1091-6490. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1820754116
• Mothersill, D. et al. (2019) 'Neural Effects of Cognitive Training in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-analysis'. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 4 (8). pp. 688-696. ISSN 2451-9022. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.03.005
• van den Heuvel, M. et al. (2019) '10Kin1day: A Bottom-Up Neuroimaging Initiative'. Frontiers in Neurology, 10. p. 425. ISSN 1664-2295. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00425
• Mothersill, D. et al. (2018) 'Computerised working memory based cognitive remediation therapy does not affect Reading the Mind in the Eyes test performance or neural activity during a Facial Emotion Recognition test in psychosis'. European Journal of Neuroscience, 48 (1). pp. 1691-1705. ISSN 1460-9568. DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13976
• Cosgrove, D. et al. (2018) 'Effects of MiR-137 genetic risk score on brain volume and cortical measures in patients with schizophrenia and controls'. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 177 (3). pp. 369-376. ISSN 1552-485X. DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32620
• Donohoe, G. et al. (2018) 'Effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, cognitive remediation training programme for chronic psychosis: cognitive, functional and cortical outcomes from a single blind randomised controlled trial'. Psychological Medicine, 48 (5). pp. 751-764. ISSN 1469-8978. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291717001982
• Donohoe, G. et al. (2018) 'Genetically predicted complement component 4A expression: effects on memory function and middle temporal lobe activation'. Psychological Medicine, 48 (10). pp. 1608-1615. ISSN 1469-8978. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291717002987
• Sønderby, Ida E, Gústafsson, Ómar, Doan, Nhat Trung and Mothersill, David et al. (2018) 'Dose response of the 16p11.2 distal copy number variant on intracranial volume and basal ganglia'. Molecular Psychiatry, 25. pp. 584-602. ISSN 1476-5578. DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0118-1
• Cosgrove, D. et al. (2017) 'Cognitive Characterization of Schizophrenia Risk Variants Involved in Synaptic Transmission: Evidence of CACNA1C's Role in Working Memory'. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42 (13). pp. 2612-2622. ISSN 1740-634X. DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.123
• Cosgrove, D. et al. (2017) 'MiR-137-derived polygenic risk: effects on cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and controls'. Translational Psychiatry, 7 (1). Article number e1012. ISSN 2158-3188. DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.286
• Guadalupe, T. et al. (2017) 'Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex'. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 11 (5). pp. 1497-1514. ISSN 1931-7565. DOI: 10.1007/s11682-016-9629-z
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2017) 'Further evidence of alerted default network connectivity and association with theory of mind ability in schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia Research, 184. pp. 52-58. ISSN 0920-9964. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.11.043
• Hargreaves, A. et al. (2016) 'Detecting facial emotion recognition deficits in schizophrenia using dynamic stimuli of varying intensities'. Neuroscience Letters, 633. pp. 47-54. ISSN 0304-3940. DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.09.017
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2016) 'Neural effects of social environmental stress – an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis'. Psychological Medicine, 46 (10). pp. 2015-2023. ISSN 1469-8978. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291716000477
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2016) 'Emotion and Theory of Mind in Schizophrenia - Investigating the Role of the Cerebellum'. The Cerebellum, 15 (3). pp. 357-368. ISSN 1473-4230. DOI: 10.1007/s12311-015-0696-2
• Kelly, S. et al. (2014) 'Genome-wide schizophrenia variant at MIR137 does not impact white matter microstructure in healthy participants'. Neuroscience Letters, 574. pp. 6-10. ISSN 0304-3940. DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2014.05.002
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2014) 'Altered medial prefrontal activity during dynamic face processing in schizophrenia spectrum patients'. Schizophrenia Research, 157 (1-3). pp. 225-230. ISSN 0920-9964. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.05.023
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2014) 'Effects of MIR137 on fronto-amygdala functional connectivity'. NeuroImage, 90. pp. 189-195. ISSN 1053-8119. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.12.019
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2012) 'The effects of psychosis risk variants on brain connectivity: a review'. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 3. p. 18. ISSN 1664-0640. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00018

Book Chapters

• Kracen, Amanda +, Mothersill, David +, McClean, E. * and Woods, S. * (2023) 'Demystifying anxiety: A teaching tool to destigmatize mental health and enhance students’ resilience'. In: A Psychology Skillbuilding Toolbox for Students. Society for the Teaching of Psychology. ISBN 978-1-941804-73-5
• Hargreaves, April, Mothersill, David and Loughnane, Gerard M. (2022) 'Stigma: An Investigative Analysis of the Irish Public’s Knowledge and Perception of Autism'. In: Autism Spectrum Disorders - Recent Advances and New Perspectives. IntechOpen. ISBN 978-1-83768-343-7.
• Patel, Anjuli, Stynes, Paul, Sahni, Anu, Mothersill, David and Pathak, Pramod (2022) 'A Machine Learning based Eye Tracking Framework to Detect Zoom Fatigue'. In: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2. SciTePress, pp. 187-195. ISBN 978-989-758-562-3 & ISSN 2184-5026.

Conference Presentations and Posters

• Mothersill, D. et al. (2018) 'Computerised working memory based cognitive remediation therapy does not affect Reading the Mind in the Eyes test performance or neural activity during a Facial Emotion Recognition test in psychosis', 21st annual Cognitive Remediation in Psychiatry conference, New York, USA, 8th June.
• Mothersill, D. (2017) 'Randomized Trial Of Low Support Cognitive Training For Schizophrenia: Cortical And Behavioral Outcomes', Society for Psychotherapy Research UK & European Chapters 4th joint conference, Examination Schools, Oxford University, United Kingdom, 20th - 22nd September.
• Mothersill, O. (2016) 'Emotion and Theory of Mind in Schizophrenia: Investigating the Role of the Cerebellum', 3rd European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (ESCAN) Conference, Porto, Portugal, 23rd - 26th June.
• Mothersill, O. (2015) 'Association of a schizophrenia risk variant within CACNA1C with altered prefrontal connectivity', School of Psychology Annual Research Day, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland, 11th June.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2014) 'Effects of MIR137 on Fronto-amygdala functional connectivity', 20th Annual Meeting of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping, Hamburg, Germany, 8th - 12th June.
• Mothersill, O. (2014) 'Effects of MIR137 on Fronto-amygdala functional connectivity', Human Disease Mapping, 2014, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, 30th - 31st January.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2013) 'Increased medial prefrontal activity during dynamic face processing in schizophrenia', Galway Neuroscience Centre Annual Research Day, NUI Galway, 5th December.
• Mothersill, O. (2013) 'Effects of common and rare nNOS variants on neurocognitive intermediate phenotypes for schizophrenia', 11th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry, Kyoto, Japan, 23rd - 27th June.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2013) 'Effects of a schizophrenia risk variant in CSMD1 on left temporal activity during social cognition', Annual Meeting of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 16th - 20th June.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2012) 'Effects of CSMD1 gene variation on brain activity and functional connectivity', 5th Trinity College School of Medicine Postgraduate Research Day, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 20th September.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2012) 'Effects of a schizophrenia-associated variant rs10503253, within the CSMD1 gene, on brain activity and functional connectivity', 7th Annual Neuroscience Ireland Meeting,  Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, 5th - 6th September.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2012) 'Effects of schizophrenia-associated variant rs10503253, within the CSMD1 gene, on functional connectivity', Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum of Neuroscience, Barcelona, Spain, 14th - 18th July.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2011) 'Investigating the impact of psychosis risk genes on neural connectivity: A review and quantification of effects', School of Medicine Tercentenary Symposium, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 4th November.
• Mothersill, O. et al. (2011) 'The NOS1 Polymorphism rs6490121 is Associated with Variation in Prefrontal Function and Gray Matter Density in Healthy Individuals', Wiring the Brain Conference, 2011, Wicklow, Ireland, 12th - 15th April.