Julian Keenan

Biography

From Harvard Medical School to Montclair State

In 2001, Julian Paul Keenan arrived from Harvard Medical School to start a modern, cutting edge neuroimaging laboratory at MSU. His time researching and teaching in the Neurology Unit focused on depression, self-awareness, acquired blindness, deception, evolution and of course, brain stimulation and brain imaging. At Harvard, he taught Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation courses, investigated clinical treatments, pioneered work in brain research and discovered the major role of the right hemisphere in cognitive functioning. Upon establishing the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, he began collaborations around the world, focused in Germany, Japan, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

However, the focus has always been student training and student excellence. For decades, the research and the student training has been rarely matched. His newest book Neuroscience on a Budget: The Essential Guide to Running a Lab, Securing Funding and Publishing your Research when Resources are Limited details this process and is being published by Cambridge University Press.

The Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory

Why did the self evolve and what are the neural correlates? Are Irish descendants neurologically damaged because their ancestors survived a famine? Does psilocybin work to treat disorders? How do we get more equality in neuroscience?
 

The questions Keenan asks are big questions. His group was first interested in self-face recognition and self-awareness wondering why the brain would give us a self.

Julian Paul Keenan received his PhD at SUNY Albany/Harvard Medical School and after a faculty position at Harvard Medical, he arrived at Montclair State. He has published in Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy, and is the founder of the journal Social Neuroscience. He has written/edited 12 books, and has mentored countless current MD, DO, PhD, DMD, DVT, PA, PsyD professionals.

Keenan discovered that the brain correlates of self-face recognition are mediated in the right hemisphere. His lab further determined the critical role the medial prefrontal cortex plays in deception and self-deception.

He was an early adopter of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for use in cognitive neuroscience and continues to employ it in his current research.

His work has reached the public through major media outlets including ABC, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, NPR etc...

Ireland and The Famine (An Gorta Mor)

In the late 1980's, Keenan began his in depth investigations into Ireland. The 'Famine', as it is often called, came to the forefront as the critical event in Irish history. Taking place in 1845, this event changed Ireland forever, to the point that even in terms of population, the country hasn't recovered. 

But what really happened genetically and epi-genetically? What happened in terms of neuroscience, medicine, and psychology? 

Keenan and his team has been investigating these questions and the answers are surprising. From the role of the potato to the neuroscience of genocide, the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory is on the forefront of these investigations. 

Look for upcoming books, book chapters, and articles.

The Brain

Keenan's work was the first to discover the neural correlates of self-face recognition. From patients at Harvard Medical and Brigham Woman's Hospital, Keenan discovered the major role of the right dorsal lateral frontal cortex and temporal junction. From here, speculation, research and discoveries were made in terms of self-awareness. 

From Autism to Narcissism, the pursuit of how the brain made the self has intrigued Keenan. Along with amazing students, this works continues, touching on all dimensions of 'me' from deception to altruism. 

However, that is only a minor fraction of the lab's neuroscience. From the 'teacher's brain' to making one more attractive through brain stimulation, the lab continues to innovate neuroscience.

 

Education

Post-Doctoral        Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1998

Ph.D.                     Ph.D. Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 1988

The University at Albany: Biopsychology. May, 1998.    

Dissertation research completed at Harvard Medical School, 1997-1998.

M.A.                       The College at New Paltz: Psychology (General). May, 1994.

B.A.                        The College at New Paltz: Psychology. December, 1991. Departmental Valedictorian. With studies at Ealing College (West London University), London, England,1989.

 

H-Index (6/1/2026)

Citations       15,209

h-index         46      

i10-index       72      

 

Links

Julian Paul Keenan is the Director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory which can be found at the following link: 
https://www.cognitiveneuroimaginglab.com/ 

or Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Paul_Keenan

Recent Journal Publications

Keenan, J. P., Brenya, J., Cifuentes, N., & Albedawe, M.(2026). Self-Deception Must Remain Beyond Detection: The Effectiveness of Multimodal Deception. Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Platek, S., Keenan, J. P., Hughes, S., & Harison, M. (2026). In Memoriam: Gordon G. Gallup, Jr.. Reflections on the Man with the Mirror. Evolution and Human Behavior.

Skowron, M., Morante, A., Alvarez, A;, & Keenan, J. P. (2025). A Pilot Study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and the Right Teaching Parietal JunctionbioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.15.676361

Greenwood, D., Archer, Q., Ash, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2025). Connecting the Dots Between Narcissism and Fame Appeal:The Role of Imaginary Audience Fantasies. Current Issues in Personality Psychology.Jun 12;13(3):202-210. doi: 10.5114/cipp/197263.

Archer, Q., Brenya, J., Chavaria, K., Friest, A., Ahmad, N., Zorns, S., Vaidya, S., Shelanskey, T., Sierra, S., Ash, S., Balugus, B., Alvarez, A., Pardillo, M., Hamilton, R., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). The Sol Braiding Method for Handling Thick Hair During Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An Address for Potential Bias in Brain Stimulation. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, (210), 10.3791/66001. https://doi.org/10.3791/66001

Keenan J. P. (2024). The Science and Philosophy of the Brain and the Future of Neuroscience. Biology, 13(8), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13080607

Elias, S., Spivak, S., Alvarez, A., Feroll, M., Gili, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). Self-perception and self-recognition while looking in the mirror on psilocybin. Journal of Psychedelic Studies. 

Zorns, S., Sierzputowski, C., Ash, S., Skowron, M., Minervini, A., LaVarco, A., Pardillo, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). Attraction is altered via modulation of the medial prefrontal cortex without explicit knowledge. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 18, 1333733. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1333733

Ash, S., Greenwood, D., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). The Neural Correlates of Narcissism: Is there a Connection with Desire for Fame and Celebrity Worship? Brain Sciences, 13(10):1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101499.

Gainotti, G., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). Emotional Lateralization and Psychopathology: Editorial. Frontiers in Psychology. 14:1231283. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1231283

Lawson, L., Spivak, S., Webber, H., Yasin, S., Goncalves, B., Tarrio, O., Ash, S., Ferrol, M., Ibragimov, I., Gili-Olivares, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Alters Freewill Without Conscious Awareness. Biology, 12(11):1366. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12111366.

Minervini, A., LaVarco, A., Zorns, S.,  & Keenan, J.P. (2023). Excitatory Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Increases Social Anxiety. Brain Sciences, 3(7):989. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13070989

Zorns, S., Pardillo, M., Siertzputowski, C.,  Keenan, J. P. (2023). Oh It's Me Again: Deja Vu, the Brain, and Self-Awareness. Brain and Behavioral Science. 14;46:e383. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X23000201. 

Keenan J. P., O’Meara, J. Munakata, M., Vaidya, A, & Wambacq, I. (2022). On the Impact of the Self in a Complex Knowledge Network. International Journal of Complexity in Education,3 (2).

LaVarco A, Ahmad N, Archer Q, Pardillo M, Nunez Castaneda R, Minervini A, Keenan JP. (2022). Self-Conscious Emotions and the Right Fronto-Temporal and Right Temporal Parietal Junction. Brain Sciences, 12(2):138. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020138.

Shelanskey, T.,  Chavarria, K., Pagano, K., Sierra, S., Martinez, V., Ahmad, N., Brenya, J., Janowska, A., Zorns, S., Straus, A., Mistretta, V., Balugas. B., Pardillo, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resources Limited Environement to Establish Brain Behavior Relations. Journal of Visualized Experiments.         

Yasin, S., Fierst, A., Keenan, H., Knapp, A., Gallione, K., Westlund, T., Kirschner, S., Vaidya, S., Qiu, C., Rougebec, A., Morss, E., Lebiedzinski, J., Dejean, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Self-Enhancement and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex: The Convergence of Clinical and Experimental Findings. Brain Sciences, 12(8), 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12081103.

​Ahmad, N.; Zorns, S.; Chavarria, K.; Brenya, J.; Janowska, A.; Keenan, J.P. (2021). Are We Right about the Right TPJ? A Review of Brain Stimulation and Social Cognition in the Right Temporal Parietal Junction. Symmetry, 13, 2219. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13112219

Stevens, S. Brenya, J., Chavarria, K. & Keenan, J. P. (2021). There’s No “I” in Team: Altruism as a Predictor of Team Success in the National Hockey League. The Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science, 61(1), 22-30.

Janowska, A., Balugas, B., Pardillo, M., Mistretta, V., Chavarria, K., Brenya, J., Shelansky, T., Martinez, V., Pagano, K., Ahmad, N., Zorns, S., Straus, A., Sierra S., & Keenan, J. P. (2021). The Neurological Asymmetry of Self-Face Recognition. Symmetry, 13(7). 1135. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13071135.

Murray, E., Brenya, J., Chavarria, K., Kelly, K.J., Fierst, A., Ahmad., N, Anton, C., Shaffer, L., Kapila, K., Driever, L., Weaver, K., Dial, C., Crawford, M., Hartman, I., Infantino, T., Butler, F., Straus, A., Walker, S.L., Balugas, B., Pardillo, M., Goncalves, B., Keenan, J.P. (2021). Corticospinal Excitability during a Perspective Taking Task as Measured by TMS-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials. Brain Sciences, 11(4):513. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11040513

Decker, A., D'Elia, B., Kuhl, A., Rosen, S., Disney, A., Dial, C., Linietsky, M., Taylor-Lilquist, J., Taylor-Lilquist, B., Kim, E., & Keenan, J. P. (2020). Acoustic Stimulus Influences Ovipositioning in Drosophila melanogaster. Bulletin of Insectology, 73, 103-109.

Duran, K., O'Halloran, H., Soder, H., Yasin, S., Kramer, R., Rosen, S., Brenya, J., Chavarria, K., Savitska, L., & Keenan, J. P. (2020). The Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A potential link between self-deception and affect. International Journal of Neuroscience.

Kramer, R., Duran, K., Soder, H., Applegate, L., Youssef, A., Criscione, M., & Keenan, J. (2020). The Special Brain: Subclinical Grandiose Narcissism and Self-Face Recognition in the Right Prefrontal Cortex. The American Journal of Psychology, 133(4), 487-500. doi:10.5406/amerjpsyc.133.4.0487

Taylor-Lillquist, B., Kanpa, V., Crawford, M., El Filali, M., Oakes, J., Jonasz, A., Disney, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2020). Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Self-Enhancement: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study. Brain Sciences, 10(8), E535. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10080535

Criscione, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2019). Our brains make us out to be unique in ways we are not. Animal Sentience, (23), 38.

Older Journal Publications

D’Elia, B., Decker, A., Disney, A., Ko, C., & Keenan , J.P. (2016). Drosophila Melanogaster Tone Interval and Substrate Discrimination Employing Classical Conditioning, Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 3(2), pp. 36-44

Lynn, C. D., Pipitone, R., Keenan, J. P. (2014). To thine own self be false: Self-deceptive enhancement and sexual awareness influences on mating success. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 8, 109-122. 

Luber, B., Lou, H.C., Keenan, J.P., & Lisanby, S. H. (2012). Self-enhancement processing in the default network: a single-pulse TMS study. Experimental Brain Research, 223, 177-87. 

Amati, F., Oh, H., Kwan, V. S., Jordan, K., & Keenan, J. P. (2010). Overclaiming and the medial prefrontal cortex: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study. Cognitive Neuroscience, 4, 268-276. 

Carrion, R. E., Keenan, J. P., & Sebanz, N. (2010). A truth that's told with bad intent: an ERP study of deception, Cognition, 105-110.

Barnacz, A., Amati, F., Fenton, C., Johnson, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2009). Deception and dating: Knowledge may improve tactics, Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 3, 1-8.

Ganis G., Keenan J. P. (2009). The cognitive neuroscience of deception, Social Neuroscience, 4, 465-472.

Kelly, K., Barrios, V., Murray, E., Gorman, J., Ganis, G., & Keenan, J. P. (2009). The Effect of Deception on Motor Cortex Excitability. Social Neuroscience, 4, 570-574.

Furey, L. & Keenan, J. P. (2008). The neural underpinnings of self and other and layer 2 of the shared circuits model. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31, 25-26.

Barrios, V., Kwan, V, Ganis, G., Gorman, J., Romanowski, J., & Keenan, J. P. (2008). Elucidating the neural correlates of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement. Consciousness and Cognition, 17, 451-456.

Rosa, C., Lassonde, M., Pinard, C., Keenan, J. P., & Belin, P. (2008). Investigations of hemispheric specialization of self-voice recognition. Brain and Cognition, 68, 204-214.

Stevens, S., Lassonde, M., de Beaumont, L. & Keenan, J. P. (2008). In-Game Fatigue Influences Concussions in National Hockey League Players. Research in Sports Medicine, 16, 68-74.

Stevens, S., Mascos, J., & Keenan, J. P. (2008). Aggression and visors in the National Hockey League. Southern Medical Journal, 101, 979-980.

Guise, K., Romanowski, J., Vogeley, K., Platek, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2007). The anatomical and evolutionary relationship between self-awareness and theory of mind. Human Nature, 18, 132-142.

Keenan, J. P. (2007). Self-awareness and the brain. Japanese Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 9, 3-6.

Keenan, J. P. & Gorman, J. (2007). The causal role of the right hemisphere in self-awareness: It is the brain that is selective. Cortex, 43, 1074-1082.

Krych-Applebaum, M., Law, J., Jones, D., Barnacz, A., Johnson, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2007 ). ‘I Think I Know What You Mean’: the Role of Theory of Mind in Collaborative Communication., Interaction Studies, 8, 267-280. 

Kwan, V. S., Barrios, V., Ganis, G., Gorman, J., Lange, C., Kumar, M., Shepard, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2007). Assessing the neural correlates of self-enhancement bias: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study, Experimental Brain Research, epub ahead of print.

Uddin, L., Iacaboni, M., Lange, C. & Keenan, J. P. (2007). The Self and Social Cognition: The role of cortical midline structures and the mirror neuron system. Trends in Cognitive Science, 4, 153-157.

Decety, J. & Keenan, J. P. (2006). Social Neuroscience: A new journal. Social Neuroscience, 1, 1-4.

Stevens, S., Lassonde, M., de Beaumont, L. & Keenan, J. P. (2006). The effect of face shield on concussion in National Hockey League players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 9, 238-242.

Feinberg, T., & Keenan, J. P. (2005). Where in the brain is the self? Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 661-678.

Johnson, A., Barnacz, A. Yokkaichi, T., Rubio, J., Racioppi, C., Shackelford, T., Fisher, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2005). Me, myself, and lie: The role of self-awareness in deception. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1847-1853.

Keenan, J. P., Rubio, J., Racioppi, C., Johnson, A., & Michalewski, A. (2005). The right hemisphere and the dark side of consciousness. Cortex, 41, 695-704. 

Malcolm, S. & Keenan, J. P. (2005). Hemispheric asymmetry and deception detection. Laterality, 10, 103-110.

Platek, S., Keenan, J. P., & Mohamed, F. (2005). Sex differences in the neural correlates of child facial resemblance: An event-related fMRI study. NeuroImage, 25, 1366-1344.
 

Barnacz, A., Johnson, A., Constantino, P., & Keenan, J. P. (2004). Schizotypal personality traits and deception: The role of self-awareness. Schizophrenia Research, 70, 115-116.

Feinberg, T., & Keenan, J. P. (2004). Not what, but where, is your “self”? Cerebrum, 6, 49-62.

Johnson, A., Michalewsky, A., Constantino, P., Triano, J., Shackelford, T., & Keenan, J. P. (2004). Female deception detection as a function of commitment and self-awareness. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1417-1424.

Keenan, J. P. (2004). The brain and the self. MENSA, 35, 6.

Lou, H., Luber, B. Crupain, M. Keenan, J. P. , Nowak, M., Kjaer, T., Sackeim, H., & Lisanby, S. (2004). Who am I? On the nature of subjectivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 6827-6832. 

Platek, S., Keenan, J. P. , Gallup, G. G., & Mohamed, F. (2004).  Where am I? The neurological correlates of self and other. Cognitive Brain Research. 19, 114-122. 

Ray, A., Johnson, A., O’Hagen, S., Lardi, G., & Keenan, J. P. (2004). Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Brain. A Brief Review. Journal of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences, 17, 11-17.

Seger, C., Stone, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2004). The role of medial cortical regions in self-related and other person-related judgments. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1168-1177.

Barton, J., Zhao, J., & Keenan, J. P.  (2003). Perception of global facial geometry in the inversion effect and prosopagnosia. Neuropsychologia, 41, 1703-1711.

Gaab, N., Keenan, J. P., & Schlaug, G. (2003). The effects of gender on the neural substrates of musical function. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15, 810-20. 

Keenan, J. P., Romanowski, J., Christiana, W., & Schlaug, G. (2003). , Music and neuroimaging: Technical aspects. Bulletin of Psychology and the Arts, 4, 60-64. 

Keenan, J. P., Wheeler, M.A., Platek, S.,  Lardi, G., & Lassonde, M. (2003). Self-face Processing in a Callosotomy Patient. European Journal of Neuroscience, 18, 2391-2395.

Malcolm, S. & Keenan, J. P. (2003). My right I: Deception detection and hemispheric differences in self-awareness. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 767-772.

O’Hagen, S., Johnson, A., Lardi, G., & Keenan, J. P. (2003). The Effect of Relationship Status on Perceived Attractiveness.  Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 291-300.

Barton, J., Press, D., Keenan, J. P., & O’Connor, M. (2002). Perception in prosopagnosia: Features and spatial relations within upright and inverted faces. Neurology, 58, 71-78.

Keenan, J. P. & Wheeler, M.A. (2002). Elucidation of the brain correlates of cognitive empathy and self-awareness. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25, 40-41.

Barton, J., Keenan, J. P., & Bass, T. (2001). Discrimination of spatial relations and features in faces: Effects of inversion and viewing duration. British Journal of Psychology, 92, 527-549.

Keenan, J. P. (2001). A thing well done: A reply to Dr. Antti Revonsuo’s ‘Can functional brain imaging discover consciousness in the brain?’. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8, 31-33.

Keenan, J. P., McCutcheon, N. B., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2001). Functional magnetic resonance imaging and event related potentials suggest right prefrontal activation for self- related processing. Brain and Cognition, 47, 78-91.

Keenan, J. P., Nelson, A., O’Connor, M., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2001). Self-recognition and the right hemisphere. Nature, 409, 305.

Keenan, J. P., Thangaraj, V., Halpern, A., & Schlaug, G. (2001). Absolute pitch and the planum temporale. Neuroimage, 14, 1402-1408.

Boven, R., Hamilton, R., Kauffman, T., Keenan, J. P., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2000). Tactile spatial resolution in blind Braille readers. Neurology, 554, 2230-2236.

Ganis, G., Keenan, J. P., Pascual-Leone, A., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2000). Transcranial magnetic stimulation of primary motor cortex affects mental rotation. Cerebral Cortex, 10, 175- 180.

Hamilton, R., Keenan, J. P., Catala, M., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2000). Alexia for Braille following bilateral occipital stroke in an early blind woman. Neuroreport, 11, 237- 240.

Keenan, J. P., Freund, S., Hamilton, R., Ganis, G., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2000). Hand response differences in a self- identification task. Neuropsychologia, 38, 1047-1053.

Keenan, J. P., Ganis, G., Freund, S., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2000). Self- face identification is increased with left hand responses. Laterality, 5, 259-268. 

Keenan, J. P., Wheeler, M.A., Gallup, G. G., & Pascual- Leone, A. (2000).  Self- awareness and the right prefrontal cortex. Trends in Cognitive Science, 4, 338-334.

Maeda, F., Keenan, J. P., & Pascual- Leone (2000). Interhemispheric asymmetry of motor cortical excitability as measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 169-173.

Maeda, F., Keenan, J. P., Tormos, J. M., Topka, H., & Pascual- Leone (2000). Inter-individual variability of the modulatory effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on cortico- spinal excitability. Experimental Brain Research, 133. 425- 430.

Maeda, F., Keenan, J. P., Tormos, J. M., Topka, H., & Pascual- Leone (2000). Modulation of cortico-spinal excitability by repetitive transcranial magnetic brain stimulation.  Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 111, 800-805.

Keenan, J. P., McCutcheon, B., Sanders, G., Freund, S., Gallup, G. G., & Pascual- Leone, A. (1999).  Left hand advantage in a self- face recognition task. Neuropsychologia, 37, 1421- 1425.

Keenan, J. P., & Pascual- Leone, A. (1999). Transcranial magnetic stimulation: The non- invasive study of the human cortex. Science and Medicine, 6,  8- 17.

Kosslyn, S., M., Pascual- Leone, A., Felician, O., Camposano, S., Keenan, J. P., Thompson, W. L., Ganis, G., Sukel, K., & Alpert, N. M. (1999). Early visual cortical areas required for depictive visual mental imagery: Convergent evidence from PET and rTMS. Science, 284, 167- 170.

Pascual- Leone, A., Bartres- Faz, D., & Keenan, J. P. (1999).  Transcranial magnetic stimulation: Studying the brain- behaviour relationship by induction of ‘virtual lesions’. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society: Biological, 354, 1229- 1238.

Pascual- Leone, A., Tarazona, F., Keenan, J. P., Tormos, J. M., Hamilton, R., & Catala, M. D. (1999). Transcranial magnetic stimulation and neuroplasticity. Neuropsychologia., 37, 207- 217.

Dimoulas, E., Wender, S., Keenan, J. P., Gallup, G. G., & Goulet, N. (1998). Patterns of deception in human mating strategies. Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 12, 38- 42.

Freund, S., Ives, J., Keenan, J. P., Cuffin, N., Schomer, D., & Pascual- Leone, A. (1998). EEG monitoring during repetitive TMS treatment of patients with depression. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 107, 94p.

Ives, J., Chen, Q., Keenan, J. P., & Pascual- Leone, A. (1998). TMS activation of neuronal interconnectivity quantitatively measured by functional MRI BOLD: A new technique. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 107, 73- 74.

Pascual- Leone, A., Keenan, J. P., & Tormos, J. M. (1998). Repetitive transcranial stimulation in depression. The Journal of the California Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 9, 24- 27. 

Pascual- Leone, A., Tormos, J. M., Keenan, J. P., Tarazona, F., & Catala, M. (1998). Study and modulation of human cortical excitability with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 15, 333- 343.

Keenan, J. P., Freeman, P. R., & Harrell, R. (1997). The effects of long- term abstinence, sobriety length, and family history on P300 auditory evoked potentials. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 32, 233- 239.

Keenan, J. P., Gallup, G. G., Goulet, N, & Kulkarni, M. (1997). Attributions of deception in human mating strategies. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 45-52.

Keenan, J. P. (1997). A brief genetic and statistical analysis of ‘The Bell Curve’. Psybernetika, 3, 1- 7.

Books

Keenan, J. P. (Under Contract). A New History of the Great Hunger: How Science Can Explain the Irish Tragedy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Keenan, J. P. (In Press). Neuroscience on a Budget: The Essential Guide to Running a Lab, Securing Funding and Publishing your Research when Resources are Limited. Boston, MA, Cambridge University Press. Due out Late 2025 or Early 2026.

Guenther, K. & Keenan, J. P. (Eds.). (2024). When Animals Die: The Social and Biological Meaning of Animal Death. New York, NY: NYU Press

Keenan, J. P., Quevedo, K., & Hopkins, W. (Eds.). (2023):The Self-face and the Brain: How the Neuroscience of Mirror Recognition has Changed Psychology, Psychiatry, and Evolution. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.

Ragin, D., & Keenan, J. P. (Eds.). (2020). Handbook of Research Methods in Health Psychology. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.

Watanabe, S., Tsujii, T., & Keenan, J. P. (Eds.). (2007) Comparative Social Cognition. Tokyo, Japan:  Keio University Press

Platek, S., Keenan, J. P., & Shackleford, T. (Eds.). (2006). Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Feinberg, T. & Keenan, J. P (Eds.). (2005). The Lost Self: Pathologies of the Brain and Identity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

Keenan, J. P. with Research & Education Associates (2005). The Best Test Preparation for the Armed Services Vocational Test Battery. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Associates. 

Keenan, J. P. with Gallup, G. G., & Falk, D. (2004). Paperback, re-titled and revised The Face in the Mirror: How we Know Who We Are. New York, NY: HarperCollins/Ecco.

Keenan, J. P. with Gallup, G. G., & Falk, D. (2003). The Face in the Mirror: The Search for the Origins of Consciousness. New York, NY: HarperCollins/Ecco.

Keenan, J. P. with Gallup, G. G., & Falk, D. (2005). Japanese Translation of The Face in the Mirror: The Search for the Origins of Consciousness. New York, NY: HarperCollins/Ecco.

Keenan, J. P. with Gallup, G. G., & Falk, D. (2005). German Translation of The Face in the Mirror: The Search for the Origins of Consciousness. New York, NY: HarperCollins/Ecco. Das Gesicht im Spiegel: Auf der Suche nach dem Ursprung des Bewusstseins. Munchen, Germany: Ernst Reinhardt Verlag.

Recent Book Chapters

Keenan, J. P., Gili-Olivares, A., Albedawe, M. (In Press). The Neuroscience of The Great Hunger: Depression and the Role of Tryptophan and Serotonin. In Kinealy, C., & Moran, G. (Eds.), Handbook of the Irish Famine, New York, NY: Routledge.

Janowska, A., Balugas, B., Pardillo, M., Mistretta, V., Chavarria, K., Brenya, J., Shelansky, T., Martinez, V., Pagano, K., Ahmad, N., Zorns, S., Straus, A., Sierra S., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). The Neurological Asymmetry of Self-Face Recognition. In Palliard, T., & Singh, S. (Eds.), Neuroscience, Neurophysiology and Symmetry. Basel, CH, MDPI Books.

Christiana, W., Tucker, S., Malcolm, S., Johnson, A., Ahmad, N. & Keenan, J. P. (2023). Evidence for Self-Recognition in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In Keenan, J. P., Hopkins, W. & Quevedo, K. (Eds.). Self-Face Recognition and the Brain

How the Neuroscience of Mirror Recognition Has Changed Psychology, Psychiatry, and Evolution, New York, NY: Routledge.

Keenan, J. P., Quevedo, ., & Hopkins, W.  (2023). Introduction. In Keenan, J. P., Hopkins, W. & Quevedo, K. (Eds.).Self-Face Recognition and the Brain

How the Neuroscience of Mirror Recognition Has Changed Psychology, Psychiatry, and Evolution, New York, NY: Routledge.

Recent Abstracts & Posters

Cifuentes, N., Ibragimov, A.,  Dinome, D.,  Alcantara, A.,  Taupper, C., Giraldopuerta, A. & Keenan, J. P. (2026). Effects Of Occipital (V1) Tms On Motor Performance Following Cognitive Guided Visualization, , 97th Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Dinome, D., Lavarco, A., Minervini, A., Ash, S., Zorns, S., Pardillo, M., Sierzputowski, C., & Keenan, J. P. (2026.). Absence of mirror recognition in northern white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys). 97th Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Gili Olivares, A., Zanca, V., Rivera, L., & Morante, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2026.). Light, sound, seizures: A low-cost model for teaching neural plasticity with Drosophila. 97th Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Rivera, L., Elias, S., Spivak, S., Alvarez, A., Gili Olivares, A., Ferrol, M., & Keenan, J. P. (2026). Self-perception and self-recognition while looking in the mirror on psilocybin. 97th Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Uslu, A., Dinome, D., Gili Olivares, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2026.). The absence of evidence for contagious yawning in white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys). 97th Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Keenan, J. P.  (2024). Getting it done at a non-R1: Succeeding in Cognitive Neuroscience in a Resource-Limited Environment Cognitive Neuroscience Society. Toronto, Canada.

Ferrol, M., Ibragimov, A., Straus, A., Alvarez, A., Ash, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). The Cycle of Lying. Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Oakes, J., Lawson, L., Hambri, N., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). All you Need it Lobe: How Music and TMS Influence Social Pain. Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Olivares, A., Pardillo, M., Ash, S., Ibragimov, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). Seeing the Best Possible Future Possible Following TMS Delivered to the DLPFC. Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Skowron, M., Olivares, A., Ash, S., Ferrol, M., Archer, Q., Ibragimov, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and the Right Parietal Temporal Junction (RTPJ). Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Tauper, C., Skowrin, M., Ahmad, N., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). The Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Depression. Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Zanca, V., Zorns, S., Seirzputowski, C., & Keenan, J. P. (2024). TMS and Attraction. Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Archer, Q., Duran, G., Chavarria, K., Brenya, J., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). Preventing Potential Racial Biasing Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Eastern Psychological Association. Philadelphia, PA.

Freist, A., Vaidya, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2023). Abstraction and Representational Art and Music in the Brain: A TMS Study. Eastern Psychological Association. New York. NY.

Archer, Q., LaVarco, A., Ahmad, N., Pardillo, M., Nunez-Castaneda, R., Minervini, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Self-Conscious Emotions and the Right Fronto-Temporal and Right Temporal Parietal Junction. Fifth Annual Darwin Day, Montclair, NJ.

DePryk, K., Wambacq, I., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Developing Executive Functions through Challenge Based Learning in Higher Education. Society for Technology and Teacher Education. San Diego, CA.

Fierst, A., Vaidya, S., Keenan, H., Qui, C., Galione, K., Keenan, J. P. (2022). Preventing potential racial biasing in Scalp-based imaging using braiding methods. Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY, 39.

Gili, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Psilocybin, the Self, and the Mirror. 1st  Annual Neuroscience of Psychedelics  Conference. Montclair, NJ.

Lavarco, A., Duran, G., Zorns, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The Special Brain: Subclinical Grandiose Narcissism and Self-Face Recognition in the Right Prefrontal Cortex.  The Montclair State University Neuroscience Conference. Montclair, NJ. 

Lawson, L., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The Effect of Enclosure on Stress in Red Pandas (Ailurus fulgens). 1st  Annual Neuroscience of Psychedelics  Conference. Montclair, NJ.

Martinez, V., Pagano, K., Ahmad, N., Nunez-Castaneda, R., Spivak, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Am i my politics, religion, both, or neither? A Transcranial magnetic Study. Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY, 53.

Martinez, V., Pagano, K., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The Role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) in the Processing of Abstract and Representational Art and Music. Society of the Neuroscience of Creativity.

Nunez-Castaneda, R., Ahmad, N., Martinez, V., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The potential role of the medial prefrontal cortex in self-deception & affect. Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY, 53.

Qui, C., Keenan, H., Vaidya, S., Galione, K., Fierst, A., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Surveillance and color: a change blindness Study. Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY, 39.

Siertzputowski, C., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The Canine Self-awareness Dog Inventory. 1st  Annual Neuroscience of Psychedelics  Conference. Montclair, NJ.

Spivak, S., Martinez, V., Ahmad, N., Pagano, K., Nunez-Castaneda, R., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). The perception of free will in a forced choice task. Eastern Psychological Association, New York, NY, 53.

Spivak, S., Farrell, M., Pagano, K., Nunez-Castaneda, R., Ahmad, N., Martinez, V., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Justifying One’s Choices: The Misattribution of Agency. Fifth Annual Darwin Day, Montclair, NJ.

Zorns, S., & Keenan, J. P. (2022). Attraction and the Prefrontal Cortex. 1st  Annual Neuroscience of Psychedelics  Conference. Montclair, NJ.

Teaching Experience at Montclair State University

2001-            Quantitative Methods 

2001-            Experimental Psychology 

2002-            Introduction to Psychology 

2002-            Physiological Psychology

2002-            Behavioral Neuroscience. Graduate 

2003-            Human Experimental Psychology. Graduate, co-instructor 

2003-            Quantitative and Statistical Methods. Graduate.

2004-            Special Topics: Evolutionary Psychology.

2005-            The Science of Self Perception. Co-instructor.

2006-            Evolutionary Psychology 

2006-            The Science of the Self. Special Topics. Woodrow Wilson Foundation-College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

2009-            Principles of Biology I

2009-            Principles of Biology II

2009-            Principles of Biology II Lab

2010-            Selected topics Neuroimaging Methods

2012-            Selected topics Research Methods

2015-            Evolutionary Biology

2016-            Genetics

2016             Genetics Lab

2016-            Selected topics Social Neuroscience

2018-            Animal Behavior

2019-            Principles of Biology I Lab

2021-            Social Neurobiology

2022-            Neurobiology

2022-            Genes, Brain, and Behavior
 

Education

• BA, The State University of New York at New Paltz 
• MA, The State University of New York at New Paltz 
• PhD, The State University of New York at Albany with dissertation research completed at Harvard Medical School

Research

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Irish Famine Studies
• Self-awareness and theory of mind 
• Deception and deception detection 
• Evolutionary cognitive neuroscience