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1
Q

What is the Epigenome?

A

The system of regulatory genes. The proteins that activate regulatory genes come from outside the cells and arise in the body due to environmental influences that organism are exposed to (nutrition, sun, etc.)

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2
Q

What is epigenetics?

A

Is the story of (workings of) the epigenome

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3
Q

Genotype

A

Each person’s specific instance of the human genome, contains what is specific to an individuals DNA

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4
Q

Phenotype

A

The actual organism that results from the expression of the genotype

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5
Q

Relate epigenetics to nature/nurture issue

A

The epigenome allows nurture to influence nature

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6
Q

Relate genetic and environmental determinisms to nature/nurture

A

Genetics determinisms represents nature and environmental determinisms represent nurture. Not one or the other both nature and nurture are influential

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7
Q

Understand what Adoption studies show about the genetic contribution to traits

A

Same environment, different genes, adopted children and non-blood related siblings

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8
Q

Understand what Family studies show about the genetic contributions to traits

A

Closer relatives are genetically more alike than more distant relatives: studies of traits that run in the families

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9
Q

SLI

A

Specific Language Impairment: A language defect that has no apparent explanation at all

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10
Q

FoxP2 on Chromosome 7

A

FOXP2 is a gene that regulates the activity of other genes, having an effect on the development of many organs, such as lungs, but also including brain systems important for speech and language

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11
Q

Specific Language Elevation

A

Extraordinary language skills in normal polyglots

In people with mental problems - Williams’ syndrome/language savants

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12
Q

The notion of the homunculus

A

Correspondences between the part of the brain that moves a specific body part

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13
Q

Somatosensory Cortex:

A

The gyrus after the central sulcus

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14
Q

Non-instrumental techniques

A

Dichotic listening experiments

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15
Q

Penfield and Jaspers…

A

Figured out the map of the brain called the homunculus

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16
Q

Dichotic Listening Studies

A

A psychological test commonly used to investigate selective attention within the auditory system

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17
Q

Split brain Patient

A

Left brain controls the language, right brain can ID word/picture and write with left hand

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18
Q

What are the two major types of Aphasia?

A

Broca’s and Wernicke’s

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19
Q

Broca’s Aphasia

A
  • Articulation impaired

- Slow, telegraphic speech

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20
Q

Wernicke’s Aphasia

A
  • Auditory comprehensions impaired

- Fluent sounding though meaningless

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21
Q

Plasticity

A

How fixed is the relation between regions and functions? regions can take on other functions in addition to the ‘default function’

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22
Q

What is ethology?

A

The study of animal behavior

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23
Q

Name some ways animals communicate with each other

A
  • Electricity
  • Suface waves
  • Magnetic fields
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24
Q

What are some various functions of animal communication?

A
  • Domain delimitation/territory
  • Food
  • Mates
  • Social Rank
  • Warnings/alarm calls/distress
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25
What is intraspecies communication
Communication between the same species
26
What is interspecies communication?
Communication between members of different species (Ex. man & dog)
27
A way to define the notion of communication focus on the aspect of 'intention'
Produce a form (of communication) with the intention to influence behavior of another creature
28
Two examples of animal communication systems
1. The honeybee dance | 2. Vervet monkeys alarm call
29
Explain the 3 step process of the honeybee dance
1. Direction of waggle: direction to fly in reference with the sun 2. Duration of the waggle: distance away from the hive 3. Excitement of waggle: Quality of the food source
30
What are the results obtained from the study of the parrot Alex
When asked questions in the context of specific tests, he gave the correct answer approximately 80% of the time
31
How do human words differ from vervet calls
Properties of human language are claimed to not occur anywhere else
32
How is human language different from animal communication systems
- Independence from ‘here and now’ (displacement) - Large inventory of meaningful units - Internal structure of the form (i.e. phonemes, syllables): phonology - External structure of basic units - Syntax
33
What is Chomsky's view for animal communication?
We still have animal communication but human language is different altogether because it is an instrument of thought. It did not evolve from animal communication.
34
What was the main conclusion from Herbert Terrace's research with Nim?
Nim could not do syntax
35
What does work with Kanzi show?
chimps can learn a keyboard language
36
What were experiments with European Starlings suppose to show
Can starlings learn recursive patterns
37
What are the general conclusions from studies about teaching language-like system to various kinds of animals?
- They can learn vocabulary and have amazing cognitive abilities - Animals miss the communicative incentive, the desire to externalize their inner mental life and cannot deal with internal and external hierarchical structure
38
The notion of Language Change
Fact: All languages change over time
39
What are the characteristics of language change
Systematic and Unpredictable
40
Why is language change systematic?
It affects aspects of language in a regular way
41
Why is language change unpredictable?
Because we cannot predict when or in which language a certain change will happen
42
What are the three motivations for why language change can occur?
1. Ease of articulation 2. Ease of perception 3. Ease of learnability
43
How can external factors cause language change?
Other languages can influence each other (in class he used fashion as a comparison, changing of style)
44
Explain why language change does not make languages as a whole better or worse.
The motivations for change can work against each other which, causes a restraint.
45
What is an example of language change in the lexicon and relatedness?
Words disappearing and new words (often loan words) entering the lexicon.
46
What is the Splitting Model?
The hunter gatherer life style 1. Bands/Tribes split up 2. Languages change Result: different languages arise that that stem from a common source
47
How was the discovery was made that many languages are related
Sir William Jones discovered Indo-European languages by using cognates and comparative reconstruction
48
What are language families?
Groups of related languages
49
Relating bee dance and human language
Bee dance has infinite number of patterns and humans have recursion
50
At which time did the Homo sapiens people who populated the world (outside Africa) leave Africa?
1.9 million years ago
51
When was agriculture and domestication of animals 'invented'?
12,000 years ago
52
Name a well known language family
- A well-known family is Indo-European | - It contains several daughters, such as Germanic, Italic (‘Latin’), etc.
53
What is a cognate?
Words that two languages have in common or that correspond with one another
54
Explain the notion of Comparative Reconstruction
The reconstruction of proto-languages based on comparing their daughter languages
55
proto-world langauge leads to?
Monogenesis
56
What is monogenesis?
All languages spoken today decent from one language
57
What is a Superfamily
The bigger language families
58
Lumpers
Try to show that all languages derive from one common ancestor
59
Splitters
More conservative in grouping language and language families
60
What is the argument for innateness from language changes?
Languages stay within the universal design that is shared by all languages because the Universal Design is built into the brain based on genetic specifications
61
What is the basic problem for understanding the evolution of language?
The absence of direct evidence
62
The big bang theory of the human mind and whats wrong with it
- The birth of the human mind emerged around 40,000 years ago, a gradual increase in artifacts around that time - Wrong: there is a lot of archeological evidence for human artifacts from much earlier, going back to the African period. And language is much older
63
What makes up the semiotic triangle?
Concept, form, and referent
64
The semiotic triangle for animals
Forms and concepts are disconnected
65
The semiotic triangle for humans
Referent and form are disconnected
66
The big cut leading to the disconnected mind refers to?
the disconnect in referent and form
67
What are the two problems with the one-word stage?
1. Each word must be remembered as a holistic form | 2. We need a long list of words
68
What solved the problems of the one-word stage?
Phonology solved problem 1 – Helps you memorize words more quickly Syntax solves problem 2 – If syntax did not evolve we would have to memorize an infinite amount of sentences.
69
How does Bickerton's 'proto-language' or 'pre-language' fits in?
After the one word stage and before phonology
70
What is intonation
Different sentence melodies
71
Understand what twin studies show about the genetic contribution to traits
Same genes, different environment; monozygotic twins reared apart
72
Methods to show brain activity: blood flow
PET and fMRI
73
Methods to show brain activity: electricity
EEG, ERP, and MEG
74
Birdsong has 'phonological structure'
Bird song has recursion can change their forms

Linguistics (3 decks)

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