LEWISTON, Maine -- Steven F. Maier, professor of psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder, will discuss "Bi-directional Communication Between the Brain and the Immune-System: Implications for Understanding Stress and Depression" at Bates College at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Keck Classroom, Pettengill Hall. The public is invited to attend the Robin L. Bitner '95 Neuroscience Lecture free of charge.

Maier specializes in psychoneuroimmunology, behavioral neuroscience and animal learning. He is editor of the neuroscience journal "Learning and Motivation" and has written two books, 30 chapters and more than 185 articles. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including several from the National Institute of Mental Health, Maier has been named a Phi Beta Kappa Traveling Scholar and a Grass Foundation Traveling Neuroscience Scholar.

The Robin L. Bitner '95 Neuroscience Lecture Fund, established by Bitner in 1997, provides support for an annual lecture or lectures in neuroscience at Bates.