Patrick McNamara, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Neurology Department of Neurology at the BU School of Medicine and the VA New England HealthCare System. Upon graduating from the Behavioral Neuroscience Program at Boston University in 1991, he trained at the Aphasia Research Center at the Boston VA Medical Center in neurolinguistics and brain-cognitive correlation techniques. He then began developing an evolutionary approach to problems of brain and behavior and currently is studying the evolution of the frontal lobes, the evolution of the two mammalian sleep states (REM and NREM) and the evolution of religion in human cultures. He has published numerous articles and chapters on these topics pioneering the investigation of the role of the frontal lobes in the mediation of religious experience.

Publications

  • Published 7/28/2025

    Balch J, Hodulik G, Raider R, David A, Reed C, Wildman WJ, Rohr D, McNamara P. Dream content influences daily spirituality. Front Psychol. 2025; 16:1575174. PMID: 40792092.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/3/2025

    Balch J, Raider R, Reed C, McNamara P. Relationship and personality factors predict longitudinal changes in dream content. Sci Rep. 2025 May 03; 15(1):15531. PMID: 40319124.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/24/2025

    Cohen-Zimerman S, Cristofori I, McNamara P, Krueger F, Gordon B, Grafman J. Attachment style and its impact on connection to God in individuals with brain injury: behavioral and lesion-based findings. Front Neurol. 2025; 16:1488890. PMID: 40343178.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/29/2024

    McNamara P, Grafman J. Advances in brain and religion studies: a review and synthesis of recent representative studies. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024; 18:1495565. PMID: 39677407.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/26/2024

    Balch J, Raider R, Reed C, McNamara P. The association between sleep disturbance and nightmares: Temporal dynamics of nightmare occurrence and sleep architecture in the home. J Sleep Res. 2025 Aug; 34(4):e14417. PMID: 39600122.

    Read at: PubMed

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Websites

Education

  • Boston University, PhD
  • Boston University, MA

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