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PSYCH 110 - Biopsychology > Chapter 2 - Evolution, Genetics, and Experience > Flashcards

Chapter 2 - Evolution, Genetics, and Experience Flashcards

1
Q

Cartesian dualism

A

The philosophical position of René Descartes, who argued that the universe is composed of two elements: physical matter and the human mind

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2
Q

Nature-nurture issue

A

The debate about the relative contributions of nature (genes) and nurture (experience) to the behavioral capacities of individuals

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3
Q

Ethology

A

The study of the behavior of animals in their natural environments

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4
Q

Instinctive behaviors

A

Behaviors that occur in all like members of a species, even when there seems to have been no opportunity for them to have been learned

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5
Q

Asomatognosia

A

A deficiency in the awarenesss of parts of one’s own body that is typically produced by damage to the right parietal lobe

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6
Q

Evolve

A

To undergo gradual orderly change

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7
Q

Natural selection

A

The idea that those heritable traits that are associated with high rates of survival and reproduction are the most likely to be passed on to future generations

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8
Q

Fitness

A

According to Darwin, the ability of an organism to survive and contrivute its genes to the next generation

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9
Q

Species

A

A group of organisms that is reproductively isolated from other organisms; the members of one species cannot produce fertile offspring by mating with members of other species

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10
Q

Conspecifics

A

Members of the same species

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11
Q

Chordates

A

Animals with dorsal nerve cords (e.g. humans, monkeys, kangaroos)

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12
Q

Vertebrates

A

Chordates that possess spinal bones

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13
Q

Amphibians

A

Species that must live in water during their larval phase; adult amphibians can survive on land

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14
Q

Mammals

A

A class of animals whose young are fed from mammary glands

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15
Q

Primates

A

One of 20 different orders of mammals; there about a dozen families of primates

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16
Q

Hominins

A

Primates of the same group that includes humans

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17
Q

Spandrels

A

Incidental nonadaptive evolutionary by-products of some adaptive characteristic

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18
Q

Exaptation

A

A characteristic that evolved to serve one function and was later co-opted to serve another function

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19
Q

Homologous

A

Having a similar structure because of a common evolutionary origin (e.g., a human’s arm and a bird’s wing are homologous)

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20
Q

Analogous

A

Having a similar structure because of a common evolutionary origin (e.g., a human’s arm and a bird’s wing are homologous)

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21
Q

Convergent evolution

A

The evolution in unrelated species of similar solutions to the same environmental demands

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22
Q

Brain stem

A

The part of the brain on which the cerebral hemispheres rest; in general, it regulates reflex activities that are critical for survival (e.g., heart rate and respiration)

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23
Q

Cerebrum

A

The portion of the brain that sits above the brain stem; in general, it plays a role in complex adaptive processes (e.g., learning, perception, and motivation)

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24
Q

Convolutions

A

Folds on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres

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25
Dichotomous traits
Traits that occur in one form or the other, never in combination
26
True-breeding lines
Breeding lines in which interbred members always produce offspring with the same trait, generation after generation
27
Dominant trait
The trait of a dichotomous pair that is expressed in the phenotypes of heterozygous individuals
28
Recessive trait
The trait of a dichotomous pair that is expressed in the phenotypes of heterozygous individuals
29
Phenotype
An organism's observable traits
30
Genotype
The traits that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genetic material
31
Gene
A unit of inheritance; for example the section of a chromosome that controls the synthesis of one protein
32
Alleles
The two genes that control the same trait
33
Homozygous
Possessing two identical genes for a particular trait
34
Heterozygous
Possessing two different genes for a particlar trait
35
Chromosomes
Threadlike structures in the cell necules that contain the genes; each chromosomes is a DNA molecule
36
Gametes
Egg cells and sperm cells
37
Meiosis
The process of cell division that produces cells (e.g. egg and sperm cells) with half the chromosomes of the parent cell
38
Zygote
The cell formed fromthe amalgamation (combination) of a sperm cell and an ovum
39
Genetic recombination
The meiotic process by which pairs of chromosomes cross over one another at random points, break apart, and exchange genes
40
Mitosis
The process of cell divisoin that produces cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell
41
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
The double-stranded, coiled molecule of genetic material
42
Nucleotide bases
A class of chemical substances that includes adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine - constituents of DNA
43
Replication
The process by which the DNA molecule duplicates itself
44
Mutations
Accidental alterations in individual genes
45
Autosomal chromosomes
Chromosomes that come in matched pairs; in mammals, all of the chromosomes except the sex chromosomes are autosomal
46
Sex chromosomes
The pair of chromosomes that determine an individual's genetic sex: XX for a female and XY for a male
47
Sex-linked traits
Traits that are influenced by genes on the sec chromosomes
48
Proteins
Long chains of amino acids
49
Amino acids
The building blocks of proteins
50
Promoters
Stretches of DNA whose function is to determine whether or not particular structural genes are converted into proteins through the process of gene expression
51
Gene expression
The production of the protein specified by a particular gene
52
Activators
Proteins that bind to DNA and increase gene expression
53
Repressors
Proteins that bind to DNA and decrease gene expression
54
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
A molecule that is similar to DNA except that it has the nucleotide base uracil and a phosphate and ribose backbone
55
Messenger RNA
A strand of RNA that is transcribed from DNA and then moves out of the cell nucleus where it is translated into a protein
56
Translation
The second phase of gene expression, wherein the strand of messenger RNA (mRNA) is converted by a ribosome and transfer RNA (tRNA) into a protein
57
Ribosome
Intracellular structures found in large numbers in the cytoplasm of living cells. They are involved in the translation phase of gene expression
58
Codon
A group of three consecutive nucleotide bases on a DNA or messenger RNA strand; each codon specifies the particular amino acid that is to be added to an amino acid chain during protein synthesis
59
Transer RNA
Molecules of RNA that carry amino acids to ribosomes during protein synthesis; each kind of amino acid is carried by a different kind of transfer RNA molecule
60
Human Genome Project
The international research effort to construct a detailed map of the human chromosomes
61
Human proteome
A map of the entire set of proteins encoded for by human genes
62
Epigenetics
The study of all mechanisms of inheritance other than the genetic code and its expression
63
DNA methylation
An epigenetic mechanism wherein a methyl group attaches to a DNA molecule, usually at cytosine sites in mammals. DNA methylation can either decrease or increase gene expression
64
Histone remodeling
An epigenetic mechanism wherein histones change their shape and in so doing influence the shape of the adjacent DNA. This can either increase or decrease gene expression,
65
Histone
A protein around which DNA is coiled
66
Epigenome
A catalogue of all the epigenetic mechanisms at play within a particular cell type
67
Epitranscriptome
Refers to all those modifications of RNA that occur after transcription—that do not involve modifications to the RNA base sequence
68
Transgenerational epigentics
A subfield of epigenetics that examines the transmission of experiences via epigenetic mechanisms across generations
69
Ontogeny
The development of individuals over their life span
70
Phylogeny
The evolutionary development of species
71
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
A neurological disorder whose symptoms are vomiting, seizures, hyperactivity, hyperirritability, intellectual disability, brain damage, and high levels of phenylpyruvic acid in the urine
72
Phenylpyruvic acid
A substance that is found in abnormally high concentrations in the urine of those suffering from phenylketonuria
73
Sensitive period
An interval of time during development when an experience can have a greater effect on development if it occurs during that interval, as opposed to outside that interval
74
Monozygotic twins
Twins that develop from the same zygote and are thus genetically identical
75
Dizygotic twins
Twins that develop from two zygotes and thus tend to be as genetically similar as any pair of siblings
76
Heritability estimate?
A numerical estimate of the proportion of variability that occurred in a particular trait in a particular study and that resulted from the genetic variation among the subjects in that study

PSYCH 110 - Biopsychology (18 decks)

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