About Deirdre McLaren

Deirdre McLaren

Research Assistant
Evoutionary Neurobehavior Laboratory
Boston University School of Medicine
Department of Neurology

E-mail: dmclaren@bu.edu
Deirdre McLaren’s CV

 deirdre2008
Hometown: Boston, MA
Education: Framingham State College, 2008, Bachelor of Arts in History, concentration in American History
Long-term goals: I plan to attend graduate school and pursue a research career.
My current research interests: I am particularly interested in sleep and dreams, religion, Parkinson’s disease, and how they all relate.
How I became involved in the LEN Lab: I started working at the LEN Lab in 2002 as a research assistant after I graduated from high school.
What I am currently working on the the LEN Lab: I am currently working on website development, looking at the personality development of individuals with Parkinson’s disease, and conducting biographic research of historical figures with neurological and psychiatric disorders. I am also using the Hall/Van de Castle system to help score dreams collected in the sleep lab in order to compare dream content between individuals.
My experience working in the LEN Lab: While working in the LEN Lab, I have contributed to a number of projects about sleep and dreams. I have also helped develop the LEN Lab website.
How I think the LEN Lab is helping me obtain my long-term goals: My work here has given me valuable hands-on experience as well as many opportunities to apply my knowledge and contribute to the research community (an opportunity rare for most undergraduate students).
Conferences/Publications/Posters:

  • McNamara, P., McLaren, D., Kowalczyk, S., & Pace-Schott, E. (2007). ‘Theory of Mind’ in REM and NREM dreams. In D. Barrett & P. McNamara (Eds.), The new science of dreaming (Volume I, Chpt. 13). Westport, CT: Praeger Perspectives.
  • McNamara, P., McLaren, D., & Durso, K. (2007). Representation of the Self in REM and NREM Dreams. Dreaming, 17(2), 113-126.
  • McNamara, P. McLaren, D., Brown, A., Smith, D., & Stickgold, R. (2005). A Jekyll and Hyde within: Opposing social interactions in REM versus NREM sleep mentation. Psychological Science, 16(2), 130-136.
  • Wegelin, J. A., McNamara, P., Durso, R., Brown, A., & McLaren, D. (2005). Correlates of excessive daytime sleepiness in Parkinson’s disease. parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 11(7), 441-448.

Primary teaching affiliate
of BU School of Medicine