Degrees/Diplomas: Ph. D, Columbia University
Training Area: Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience
Research Interests: Depression, Epidemiology, Gender; Increasing Diversity in Government Service
Brett Silverstein's research focuses on the epidemiology of depression. He has published several studies indicating that depression accompanied by somatic symptomatology such as disordered eating and headaches(“somatic depression”), may be a different disorder than depression not accompanied by significant somatic symptomatology (“pure depression”). Somatic depression is rooted in psychosocial forces whereas pure depression may be more likely to be rooted in endogenous, genetic factors. The widely reported gender difference in depression is in actuality a difference in somatic, not pure depression. Somatic depression responds more poorly to antidepressant medication than does somatic depression.