PLACEBOS ARE TOPIC OF LECTURE NOV. 8

Terry Blumenthal, a psychology professor at Wake Forest University and an expert in psychopharmacology, will give a presentation titled "Placebos and Health" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in room 200 of Old Dominion University's Oceanography and Physics Building.

Blumenthal's talk is an extension of the College of Sciences' "Investigating Modern Pseudoscience" lecture series and is sponsored by Science and Reason in Hampton Roads, an organization of students, faculty and community residents dedicated to promoting science, the scientific method, rational thinking and critical examination of dubious or extraordinary claims.

Placebos are often thought of as inert or inactive, but they can still have powerful effects in reducing problematic symptoms. This reduction is based on the person using the placebo, and has little to do with the placebo itself. Blumenthal will discuss ways in which symptoms can be reduced, how to tell whether or not you are paying for a placebo and whether or not you should care.

For more information, call Larry Weinstein, associate professor of physics at Old Dominion, at 683-5803.