Dr. Moussa-Tooks’ research program is focused on identifying cognitive mechanisms of psychotic experiences through behavioral, self-report, and neuroimaging approaches. Her work to date has focused on neural contributions of the cerebellum to cognitive deficits observed in psychotic disorders and associated risk factors for abnormal cerebellar development, including early life insults and endogenous cannabinoid dysregulation. 

Dr. Moussa-Tooks is currently building a research program aimed at understanding how cerebellar processes, namely psychomotor functions like motor learning, contribute to disorganized behavior in psychosis. She hopes to translate her research into effective treatments and optimized assessment tools for disorganized behavior.

Representative Publications

* indicates mentee

Clarifying the Role of the Cerebellum in Psychosis

Moussa-Tooks, A., Huang, A., Rogers, B., Sheffield, J., Heckers, S., & Woodward, N. Cognitive Ability and Cerebellar Volume in Psychosis. Biological Psychiatry. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.03.013; PMID:

Moussa-Tooks, A., Kim, D., *Bartolomeo, L., Purcell, J., Bolbecker, A., Newman, S., O’Donnell, B., & Hetrick, W. (2019) Impaired effective connectivity in schizophrenia during continuation of cerebellar-mediated sensorimotor synchronization. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 45(3), 531-541. doi:10.1093/schbul/sby064; PMID: 29800417

Moussa-Tooks, A., Hetrick, W., Green, J.  (2020) Differential Effects of Two Early Life Stress Paradigms on Cerebellar-Dependent Delay Eyeblink Conditioning. Neurobiology of Stress, 13. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100242; PMID: 33344698

Moussa-Tooks, A., *Larson, E., *Gimeno, A., Leishman, E., *Bartolomeo, L., Bradshaw, H., O’Donnell, B., Mackie, K., Hetrick, W. (2020) Long-Term Aberrations to Cerebellar Endocannabinoids Induced by Early Life Stress. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64075-4; PMID: 32350298

Assessment and Modulation of Psychomotor and Motor Integration Processes

Lundin, N., Kim, D. J., Tullar, R., Moussa-Tooks, A., Kent, J., Newman, S., Purcell, J., Bolbecker, A., O’Donnell, B., Hetrick W. Cerebellar Activation Deficits During Delay Eyeblink Conditioning in Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, 2(1). doi:10.1093/schizbullopen/sgab040; PMID: 34541537

*Mitroi, J., *Burroughs, L., Moussa-Tooks, A., Bolbecker, A., Lundin, N., O’Donnell, B., & Hetrick, W. (2020) Dose and Polarity Independent Modulation of Cerebellar Timing Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. The Cerebellum. doi:10.1007/s12311-020-01114-w; PMID: 32036562

Kim, D. J., Moussa-Tooks, A., Bolbecker, A., Apthorp, D., Newman, S., O’Donnell, B., Hetrick W. (2020) Cerebellar-Cortical Dysconnectivity in Resting-State Associated with Sensorimotor Tasks in Schizophrenia. Human Brain Mapping. doi:10.1002/hbm.25002; PMID: 32250008

Assessment and Constructs 

Moussa-Tooks, A., Bailey, A., Bolbecker, A., Viken, R., O’Donnell, B., & Hetrick, W. (2020) Bifactor Structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Across the Schizotypy Spectrum. Journal of Personality Disorders, 34, 466-491. doi:10.1521/pedi_2020_34_466; PMID: 32039649

Wolny, J., Moussa-Tooks, A., Bailey, A., & Hetrick, W. Race and Self-Reported Paranoia: Increased Item Endorsement on Subscales of the SPQ. Schizophrenia Research: Psychotic Disorders and Race (Special Issue). doi:10.1016/j.schres.2021.11.034; PMID: 34895794

Bailey, A., Moussa-Tooks, A., Klein, S., Sponheim, S., & Hetrick, W. (2021) The Sensory Gating Inventory-Brief. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, 2(1). doi:10.1093/schizbullopen/sgab019; PMID: 34414372

*Chen, J., Purcell, J., Moussa-Tooks, A., & Hetrick. W. (2020) Psychometric Evaluation of the Pinocchio Illusion Questionnaire. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. doi:10.3758/s13414-020-02011-4; PMID: 32185641

My research is focused on identifying how changes to the hippocampal network contribute to progression of psychopathology and cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders. I use systems and cognitive neuroscience approaches to study the brain and brain networks, as well as multiple levels of analysis, including neuroimaging (structural, activation, connectivity) and behavioral assessment (memory, attention, eye movement).

Currently, we are conducting a study to examine how hippocampal microstructural integrity is altered in schizophrenia and how these alterations relate to individual differences in memory and functional outcomes. Through this work we aim to identify new ways to track and predict the progression of memory impairments in psychosis and their impact on clinical symptoms and function in daily life.

Representative Publications

Avery, Suzanne N, Kristan Armstrong, Maureen McHugo, Simon Vandekar, Jennifer Urbano Blackford, Neil D Woodward, and Stephan Heckers. “Relational Memory in the Early Stage of Psychosis: A 2-Year Follow-up Study.” Schizophrenia Bulletin 47, no. 1 (July 13, 2020): 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbaa081.

Avery, Suzanne N., Baxter P. Rogers, Maureen McHugo, Kristan Armstrong, Jennifer Urbano Blackford, Simon N. Vandekar, Neil D. Woodward, and Stephan Heckers. “Hippocampal Network Dysfunction in Early Psychosis: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study.” Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science 3, no. 4 (October 26, 2022): 979–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.10.002.

Avery, Suzanne N., Maureen McHugo, Kristan Armstrong, Jennifer U. Blackford, Simon Vandekar, Neil D. Woodward, and Stephan Heckers. “Habituation during Encoding: A New Approach to the Evaluation of Memory Deficits in Schizophrenia.” Schizophrenia Research 223 (September 2020): 179–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2020.07.007.

Avery, Suzanne N., Maureen McHugo, Kristan Armstrong, Jennifer Urbano Blackford, Neil D. Woodward, and Stephan Heckers. “Stable Habituation Deficits in the Early Stage of Psychosis: A 2-Year Follow-up Study.” Translational Psychiatry 11, no. 1 (2021): 20. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-01167-9.

Avery, Suzanne N., Anna S. Huang, Julia M. Sheffield, Baxter P. Rogers, Simon Vandekar, Alan Anticevic, and Neil D. Woodward. “Development of Thalamocortical Structural Connectivity in Typically Developing and Psychosis Spectrum Youths.” Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging 7, no. 8 (October 14, 2022): 782–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.09.009.