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

Chapter 2 - Evolution, Genetics, and Experience Flashcards

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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
Q

Dichotomous traits

A

Traits that occur in one form or the other, never in combination

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26
Q

True-breeding lines

A

Breeding lines in which interbred members always produce offspring with the same trait, generation after generation

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27
Q

Dominant trait

A

The trait of a dichotomous pair that is expressed in the phenotypes of heterozygous individuals

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28
Q

Recessive trait

A

The trait of a dichotomous pair that is expressed in the phenotypes of heterozygous individuals

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29
Q

Phenotype

A

An organism’s observable traits

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30
Q

Genotype

A

The traits that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genetic material

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31
Q

Gene

A

A unit of inheritance; for example the section of a chromosome that controls the synthesis of one protein

32
Q

Alleles

A

The two genes that control the same trait

33
Q

Homozygous

A

Possessing two identical genes for a particular trait

34
Q

Heterozygous

A

Possessing two different genes for a particlar trait

35
Q

Chromosomes

A

Threadlike structures in the cell necules that contain the genes; each chromosomes is a DNA molecule

36
Q

Gametes

A

Egg cells and sperm cells

37
Q

Meiosis

A

The process of cell division that produces cells (e.g. egg and sperm cells) with half the chromosomes of the parent cell

38
Q

Zygote

A

The cell formed fromthe amalgamation (combination) of a sperm cell and an ovum

39
Q

Genetic recombination

A

The meiotic process by which pairs of chromosomes cross over one another at random points, break apart, and exchange genes

40
Q

Mitosis

A

The process of cell divisoin that produces cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell

41
Q

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

A

The double-stranded, coiled molecule of genetic material

42
Q

Nucleotide bases

A

A class of chemical substances that includes adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine - constituents of DNA

43
Q

Replication

A

The process by which the DNA molecule duplicates itself

44
Q

Mutations

A

Accidental alterations in individual genes

45
Q

Autosomal chromosomes

A

Chromosomes that come in matched pairs; in mammals, all of the chromosomes except the sex chromosomes are autosomal

46
Q

Sex chromosomes

A

The pair of chromosomes that determine an individual’s genetic sex: XX for a female and XY for a male

47
Q

Sex-linked traits

A

Traits that are influenced by genes on the sec chromosomes

48
Q

Proteins

A

Long chains of amino acids

49
Q

Amino acids

A

The building blocks of proteins

50
Q

Promoters

A

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
Q

Gene expression

A

The production of the protein specified by a particular gene

52
Q

Activators

A

Proteins that bind to DNA and increase gene expression

53
Q

Repressors

A

Proteins that bind to DNA and decrease gene expression

54
Q

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

A

A molecule that is similar to DNA except that it has the nucleotide base uracil and a phosphate and ribose backbone

55
Q

Messenger RNA

A

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
Q

Translation

A

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
Q

Ribosome

A

Intracellular structures found in large numbers in the cytoplasm of living cells. They are involved in the translation phase of gene expression

58
Q

Codon

A

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
Q

Transer RNA

A

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
Q

Human Genome Project

A

The international research effort to construct a detailed map of the human chromosomes

61
Q

Human proteome

A

A map of the entire set of proteins encoded for by human genes

62
Q

Epigenetics

A

The study of all mechanisms of inheritance other than the genetic code and its expression

63
Q

DNA methylation

A

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
Q

Histone remodeling

A

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
Q

Histone

A

A protein around which DNA is coiled

66
Q

Epigenome

A

A catalogue of all the epigenetic mechanisms at play within a particular cell type

67
Q

Epitranscriptome

A

Refers to all those modifications of RNA that occur after transcription—that do not involve modifications to the RNA base sequence

68
Q

Transgenerational epigentics

A

A subfield of epigenetics that examines the transmission of experiences via epigenetic mechanisms across generations

69
Q

Ontogeny

A

The development of individuals over their life span

70
Q

Phylogeny

A

The evolutionary development of species

71
Q

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

A

A neurological disorder whose symptoms are vomiting, seizures, hyperactivity, hyperirritability, intellectual disability, brain damage, and high levels of phenylpyruvic acid in the urine

72
Q

Phenylpyruvic acid

A

A substance that is found in abnormally high concentrations in the urine of those suffering from phenylketonuria

73
Q

Sensitive period

A

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
Q

Monozygotic twins

A

Twins that develop from the same zygote and are thus genetically identical

75
Q

Dizygotic twins

A

Twins that develop from two zygotes and thus tend to be as genetically similar as any pair of siblings

76
Q

Heritability estimate?

A

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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