A - Z Staff Directory

Lecturer in Psychology (Room 2.15)

+353 1 449 8642

David.Mothersill@ncirl.ie

Key Responsibilities at NCI

• Lecturing 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

• 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

Journal articles, conference papers, published abstracts

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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) '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

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.