Chapter 1 Brain & Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience

Question 1

An alternate version of a gene; can be dominant or recessive

Answer 1

Allele

Question 2

The branch of psychology that studies the relationships between behavior and the body, particularly the brain

Answer 2

Behavioral Neuroscience

Question 3

A double-stranded chain of chemical molecules that looks like a ladder that has been twisted around itself; genes are composed of DNA

Answer 3

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

Question 4

A term referring to an allele that will produce its effect regardless of which allele it is paired with in the fertilized egg

Answer 4

Dominant

Question 5

The idea that the mind and the brain are separate

Answer 5

Dualism

Question 6

An organism in the early prenatal period; in humans, during the first eight weeks

Answer 6

Embryo

Question 7

The procedure of obtaining information through observation

Answer 7

Empiricism

Question 8

The idea that the brain functions as a whole; the opposite of localization

Answer 8

Equipotentiality

Question 9

An organism after the initial prenatal period; in humans, after the first eight weeks

Answer 9

Fetus

Question 10

The biological unit that directs cellular processes and transmits inherited characteristics

Answer 10

Gene

Question 11

The translation of a gene’s encoded information into the production of proteins, determining the gene’s functioning

Answer 11

Gene Expression

Question 12

The entire collection of genes in the chromosomes of a species

Answer 12

Genome

Question 13

The combination of genes an individual has

Answer 13

Genotype

Question 14

The percentage of the variation among individuals in a characteristic that can be attributed to heredity

Answer 14

Heritability

Question 15

Having a pair of alleles for a specific characteristic that are different from each other

Answer 15

Heterozygous

Question 16

Having a pair of alleles for a specific characteristic that are identical to each other

Answer 16

Homozygous

Question 17

An international project with the goal of mapping the location of all the genes on the human chromosomes and determining the base sequences of the genes

Answer 17

Human Genome Project

Question 18

The idea that specific parts of the brain carry out specific functions

Answer 18

Localization

Question 19

The view that the body and the mind and everything else are physical

Answer 19

Materialistic Monism

Question 20

The issue of what the mind is and what its relationship is to the brain

Answer 20

Mind-Brain Problem

Question 21

A proposed mechanism for how something works

Answer 21

Model

Question 22

The idea that the mind and the body consist of the same substance

Answer 22

Monism

Question 23

The principle that those whose genes endow them with greater speed, intelligence, or health are more likely to survive and transmit their genes to more offspring

Answer 23

Natural Selection

Question 24

The issue of the relative importance of heredity and environment

Answer 24

Nature Versus Nurture

Question 25

In heredity, the characteristic of the individual

Answer 25

Phenotype

Question 26

The theory in the early 1900s that “faculties” of emotion and intellect were located in precise areas of the brain and could be assessed by feeling bumps on the skull

Answer 26

Phrenology

Question 27

Determined by several genes rather than a single gene

Answer 27

Polygenic

Question 28

A term referring to an allele that will have an influence only when it is paired with the same recessive allele on the other chromosome

Answer 28

Recessive

Question 29

The idea that genes produce susceptibility to a disorder and that environmental challenges may combine with a person’s biological susceptibility to exceed the threshold required to produce the disorder

Answer 29

Vulnerability

Question 30

In heredity, a condition in which a gene on the X chromosome is not paired with a gene on the shorter Y chromosome, so that a single recessive gene is adequate to produce a characteristic

Answer 30

X-Linked

Question 31

A fertilized egg

Answer 31

Zygote