With the assistance of FABBS, scientists from our member scientific societies are sharing cutting-edge research with key members of the behavioral and social sciences research community at NIH. On Feb. 3rd, Dr. Steven Silverstein, Professor of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Director of Research for Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, spoke to members of the NIH’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee (BSSR-CC) about his research on retinal structure and function in schizophrenia and its potential application to other disorders.
The BSSR-CC was established to advise the director of the NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences research and to enhance communication across the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices, including the discussion and coordination of Program Announcements and Requests for Applications. Members of the BSSR-CC are appointed by the Institute, Center, and Office Directors. Silverstein’s presentation, The Retina as a Window to the Brain: Structural and Functional Retinal Changes in Psychiatric Disorders and their Implications for Understanding Brain Disease, described the retinal changes observed in schizophrenia, as well as the view that these retinal changes may parallel brain changes and cognitive decline in other disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis.
Silverstein is currently President of the Society for Research in Psychopathology.
