Chapter 3 Flashcards
Genes
Unit of heredity
DNA
You know what this is
Behavioural Genomics
Study of genes and how they are linked to behaviours
Monozygotic Twins
Come from single egg
Dizygotic Twins
Two different sperm, two different eggs
Longitudinal Studies
Follow same group of individuals throughout many years
Epigenetics
Changes in DNA expression without changing the genetic code
Evolutionary Psychology
Examines the behaviours of people and the evolutionary benefits they may have had in the past
Intrasexual selection
Competition within same sex
Intersexual selection
Competition to win over female of other sex
Neurons
Cells in human body responsible for sending and receiving signals
Parts of neurons
Soma/cell body (houses nuclues)
Dendrites (branch-like structures that receive signals)
Axon (send signal to axon terminals)
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that allow neural cells to communicate with each other
Glial Cells
Nourish neurons, remove waste products and dead neurons, form scar tissue, direct development of nervous system in embryos, provide insulation for axons, enhance brain’s immune system
Myelin
Fatty sheath that insulates axons and improves transmission efficiency
Resting potential
Negative voltage of cell under normal coniditions
Action potential
Electrical impulse that generates near cell body and travels down axon
Refractory Period
Neuron can not fire
Synapse
Small spaces between neurons
Sensory Neurons
Carry info to brain
Motor neurons
Carry info away from brain
Interneurons
Connecting neurons
synaptic cleft
Space between terminal buttons and dendrites
Reuptake
Neurotransmitters in the synapse get retracted by their presynaptic cell
EPSPs
Excitatory post-synaptic potential. Increase positive charges in cells.
IPSPs
Inhibitory post-synaptic potential. Increase negative charges in cells.
Spatial summation
Adding of two events that occurred in same space
Temporal summation
Adding of two events that occurred at same time
Glutamate
Most common excitatory neurotransmitter
GABA
Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter