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Physiological Psychology > Chapter 4: Notes > Flashcards

Chapter 4: Notes Flashcards

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1
Q

What are genes?

A

Units of heredity that maintain their structural identity from one generation to another. Gregor Mendel demonstrated that inheritance depends on genes.

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2
Q

What shapes human behavior—genes or environment?

A

A combination of both; the fundamental issue is how much each contributes to what aspect of a human.

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3
Q

Prior to Monk Gregor Mendel, what was the assumed way gene inheritance worked?

A

It was a blending of the properties of the egg and sperm, like paint.

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4
Q

Autosomal

A

Contribute most to physical characteristics; all chromosomes other than X and Y.

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5
Q

What is a gene composed of?

A

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

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6
Q

RNA

A

A single strand of chemicals that serve as a template model. One type of RNA molecule (messenger RNA) provides the template for the synthesis of protein molecules.

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7
Q

Chromosome

A

Strands of genes composed of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The exception to the rule is a male mammal—that has unpaired X and Y chromosomes with different genes.

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8
Q

DNA contains what four “bases”?

A
  1. adenine
  2. guanine
  3. cytosine
  4. thymine
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9
Q

What determines the development of a body?

A

Proteins; serve as enzymes and biocatalysts that regulate chemical reactions in the body.
Order is critical; changing just one base can make a huge difference.

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10
Q

What determines the order of amino acids that compose a protein?

A

The order of bases along an RNA molecule.

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11
Q

Enzymes

A

biological catalysts that regulate chemical reactions in the body.

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12
Q

Homozygous

A

Identical pair of genes on the chromosome.

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13
Q

Heterozygous

A

unmatched pair of genes.
e.g. you might have a gene for blue eyes on one chromosome and a gene for brown eyes on another.

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14
Q

Dominate gene

A

Shows a strong effect in either homozygous or heterozygous conditions.
e.g. ability to taste PTC

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15
Q

Recessive gene

A

Shows its effect only in the homozygous condition
e.g. low taste sensitivity to PTC

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16
Q

Gene dominance

A

Intermediate gene occurs in a phenotype where there is an incomplete heterozygous condition.

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17
Q

What are 2 common misconceptions about genes?

A
  1. If you have a gene for a trait, it always produces that outcome.
  2. A single gene completely controls a characteristic.
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18
Q

Sex-linked genes

A

Genes located on the sex chromosomes. In mammals, two sex chromosomes are designated X and Y.
Females have 2 X chromosomes.
Males have an X and a Y chromosome.

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19
Q

Sex-limited genes

A

Genes that are present in both sexes, but active mainly in one sex.
e.g. chest hair in men; breast size in women.

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20
Q

Genetic mutation

A

Heritable change in a DNA molecule.

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21
Q

Are mutations advantageous in humans?

A

No; evolution has already occurred.
One exception is the Fox p2 gene, which allows humans to speak while chimps could not.

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22
Q

Gene microduplication/microdeletion

A

Part of a chromosome that might appear once might appear twice or not at all.
e.g. some believe certain disorders, like schizophrenia, are the result of microduplication/microdeletion of brain-relevant genes.

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23
Q

Epigenetics

A

Deals with changes in gene expressions without modification of DNA sequence.

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24
Q

A gene might be present in every cell of the body, but with epigenetics, it might…

A
  1. be active only in certain types of cells.
  2. only be active at a particular time of life.
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25
Q

Can experience turn a gene on or off?

A

Yes, various experiences can turn genes on or off. Results of an experience brings proteins into a cell or in some ways alters the chemical environment.

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26
Q

How is a gene activated?

A

A “nucleosome” DNA strand needs to be partially unwound from a core of histones.

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27
Q

What chemical can turn a gene on or off?

A

In some cases of an outside experience of some sort, acetyl groups (COCH3) is added to histone tails near a gene, causing them to loosen their grip on DNA and change the expression of that gene.

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28
Q

Heritability

A

The degree to which variations in some characteristics depend on genetic differences.

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29
Q

“Virtual twins”

A

Children born at the same time, adopted at the same time, and raised in the same household, but not biologically related.

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30
Q

Is heredity important for behavior?

A

Researchers have found evidence for heritability in almost every behavior that have tested.

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31
Q

Monozygotic twins

A

Developed from one egg; “Identical twins”

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32
Q

Dizygotic twins

A

Developed from two eggs; fraternal twins

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33
Q

What are the three types of research that researchers do in regard to heredity and environment on behavior?

A

Biological children or twins, studies of adopted children, the candidate gene approach, and genome-wide association studies.

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34
Q

Candidate gene approach

A

Researchers test hypothesis
e.g. a gene that increases the activity of the serotonin transporter may be linked to an increased risk of depression.

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35
Q

Genome-wide association studies

A

Examines all the genes while comparing two groups
e.g. people with and without schizophrenia

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36
Q

Environmental modification

A

Changing genes through environmental intervention.
e.g. Phenylketonuria (PKU): The genetic inability to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine—PKU is a hereditary condition, but environmental intervention, such as diet, can modify it.

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37
Q

How do genes influence or affect the body?

A

By using proteins.

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38
Q

Evolution

A

Change over generations in the frequencies of various genes in a population.

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39
Q

What are two major questions in evolution?

A
  1. How did some species evolve?
  2. How do species evolve?
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40
Q

How did some species evolve?

A

How some species evolved is based on inferences from fossils/comparisons of living species.

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41
Q

How do species evolve?

A

Mutations, recombination, and microduplications of genes introduce new heritable variations.

42
Q

What is the reasoning behind evolution?

A

-Genetic reasons; offspring generally resemble their parents
-Mutations of genes occasionally introduce new heritable variations
-Certain individuals successfully reproduce more than others do.

43
Q

Artificial selection

A

Choosing individuals with a desired trait and using them as parents for the next generation.

44
Q

Darwin’s insight

A

Nature also selects, and a successful individual’s genes will be prevalent in later generations.

45
Q

What are some common misunderstandings?

A
  1. Lamarckian evolution—use or disuse of a structure or behavior in one’s lifetime can cause an evolutionary increase or decrease in that feature.
  2. Humans are no longer subject to evolution.
  3. Evolution means improvement.
  4. Evolution works to benefit the individual or species. (It actually works to benefit the genes.)
46
Q

Evolutionary Psychology

A

Deals with how behaviors evolved, especially social behaviors.

47
Q

Altruistic behavior

A

An action that benefits someone other than the actor.

48
Q

Reciprocal altruism

A

Idea that individuals will help those who will return the favor.

49
Q

Group selection

A

Selection for a gene that benefits the individual’s relatives.

50
Q

When does the human central nervous system begin to form?

A

In the embryo, at about two weeks old.

51
Q

What does brain development depend on?

A

Maturation and learning.

52
Q

Proliferation

A

Production of new cells.

53
Q

Stem cells

A

Cells that remain where they are, continuing to divide.

54
Q

Migration

A

Movement of cells after they have differentiated as neurons or glia
-Some migrate faster than others

55
Q

What chemicals guide migration?

A

Immunoglobulins and chemokines.

56
Q

Differentiation

A

Process whereby neuron forms its axon and dendrites; axon grows first.

57
Q

Myelination

A

The process by which glia produce insulating fatty sheathes that accelerate transmission.

58
Q

Where does myelin form?

A

Forms first in the spinal cord and then in the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. Continues gradually for decades.

59
Q

Synaptogenesis

A

Formation of synapses; process begins before birth and continues throughout life.

60
Q

Are new neurons formed after birth?

A

Yes; though previously assumed no new neurons were formed throughout our lifetime, that has been since disproven.

61
Q

How are new neurons formed?

A

Sometimes stem cells divide to form “daughter” cells that migrate to the olfactory bulb and transform into glia or neurons. In mammals, stem cells differentiate into new neurons in adult hippocampus.
-No new neurons are believed to be formed in the cerebral cortex.

62
Q

How do axons pathfind?

A

Sperry’s (1954) experiment with newts indicates that they use chemical trails and signals.

63
Q

Neural Darwinism

A

As the nervous system develops, we start with more neurons and synapses than we keep. The most successful form connections while the weakest die.

64
Q

Levi-Montalcini

A

Researcher discovered that muscles do not determine how many axons form; they determine how many survive.

65
Q

What happens when a neuron forms a synapse onto a muscle?

A

The muscle delivers a protein (nerve growth factor or NGF). NGF promotes survival and growth of the axon.

66
Q

Apoptosis

A

Programmed mechanism of cell death. If a neuron’s axon does not make contact with an appropriate postsynaptic cell by a certain age, the neuron kills itself through apoptosis.

67
Q

Neurotrophins

A

A chemical that promotes the survival and activity of neurons.

68
Q

When do apoptotic mechanisms become dormant?

A

After maturity, except under traumatic conditions.

69
Q

Fetal alcohol syndrome

A

A condition marked by hyperactivity, impulsiveness, difficulty maintaining attention, carrying degrees of mental retardation, motor problems, heart defects, and facial abnormalities.

70
Q

What are the effects of alcohol during pregnancy?

A

Alcohol easily passes through the placenta. It shortens dendrites and causes them to have fewer branches, suppresses glutamate and enhances the release of GABA.
-Results in excessive apoptosis and many neurons receive less excitation and exposure to neurotrophins than usual.

71
Q

Can dendrites grow new spines?

A

Yes. Dendrites can grow new spines and they replace old ones.

72
Q

How do the brains of creatures raised in enriched environments differ from unenriched ones?

A

Rats raised in enriched environments—with other rats, toys, and space to move—developed a thicker cortex, increased dendritic branching, and improved learning compared to rats raised in unenriched environments alone.

73
Q

Far transfer

A

Teaching a child a difficult concept would enhance intelligence in other areas.

74
Q

Does the far transfer theory work?

A

No; the brain cannot be exercised like a muscle. Teaching someone a difficult concept in one area will not make them better at something in another area.

75
Q

What are neurons more responsive to?

A

Neurons are more finely tuned and responsive to stimuli that have been important or meaningful in the past.

76
Q

What happens to the brain if a sensory system is impaired?

A

Losing a sense does not affect the receptors of other sense organs. However, losing a sense does increase attention to other sense organs and eventually, the brain shows adaptation to that attention.

77
Q

What are the effects of music training?

A

-The temporal lobe in the right hemisphere of professional musicians is 30% larger than nonprofessional
-Gray matter is thicker
-Brain changes helped musicians distinguish sounds non-musicians might not pick up on
-Stringed instrument player had larger than normal section postcentral gyrus in right hemisphere devoted to representing the fingers of the left hand

78
Q

What are the hypothesis behind how music training changes the brain?

A

Hypothesis: Practicing a skill reorganizes the brain to maximize the performance of that skill.
Alternative hypothesis: people who already have certain cognitive skills and brain features are more likely to become musicians.

79
Q

Focus hand dystonia

A

Area of the somatosensory cortex devoted to fingers spreads out or representations of all fingers grow from side to side without spreading out and overlapping.
-The fingers become clumsy, fatigue easily, and perform involuntary movements
-In extreme cases, fingers sometimes get confused with one another and it’s difficult to tell which one is which.

80
Q

Impulsiveness

A

Tendency to seek immediate reward or pleasure.

81
Q

Antisaccade task

A

Voluntary eye movement away from a normal direction

82
Q

“Discount the Future”

A

May not care about the consequences of their behaviors. They seek immediate reward or pleasure.
-Not all adolescents at any certain age act with extreme impulsion, and peers, amount of time to make decisions, and other influences can affect their decisions

83
Q

What effects does old age have on the brain?

A

-Neurons alter their synapses more slowly
-Thickness of temporal cortex shrinks
-Volume of hippocampus gradually declines
-Cerebral cortex begins thinning at thirty

84
Q

Closed head injury

A

The most common type of head injury for young adults; sharp blow to the head resulting from an accident, assault, or other sudden trauma that does not puncture the brain. After a severe injury, recovery can be slow and incomplete.

85
Q

Stroke

A

The most common type of head injury for older adults; temporary loss of blood flow to a brain area.

86
Q

What are two types of strokes?

A
  1. Ischemia: most common type of stroke; resulting from a blood clot of obstruction of an artery.
  2. Hemorrhage: less frequent type of stroke; resulting from a ruptured artery where neurons are flooded with excess blood, calcium, and oxygen
87
Q

Edema

A

Accumulation of fluid, which increases pressure on brain and probability of additional strokes.

88
Q

What are the effects of a stroke on the brain?

A

They impair the sodium-potassium pump, leading to an accumulation of sodium inside of neurons, provoking an excess release of glutamate and overstimulating neurons.
Sodium and other ions enter neurons faster than the pump can remove them.
Excess ions block metabolism in mitochondria and kill neurons.

89
Q

What are the immediate treatments for stroke?

A

-Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) breaks up blood clots
-Decrease stimulation by blocking glutamate synapses or blocking calcium entry
-Cooling the brain
-Antioxidants
-Antibiotics
-Albumin
-Treatments affecting the immune system

90
Q

How do cannabinoids help with strokes?

A

They reduce cell loss after a stroke. Research on lab animals shows they’re most effective if taken shortly before the stroke.

91
Q

Diaschisis

A

The decreased activity of surviving neurons after damage to other neurons.

92
Q

Following brain damage, how does the brain heal?

A

Surviving brain areas increase or reorganize their activity.
Destroyed cell bodies cannot be replaced, but damaged axons can grow back under certain circumstances.

93
Q

What are some problems limiting axon regeneration in mammals?

A

-A cut in the nervous system causes a scar to form, which creates a mechanical barrier.
-Neurons on the two sides of the cut pull apart.
-When glia in the CNS react to brain damage, they release chemicals that inhibit axon growth.

94
Q

Collateral sprouts

A

After the loss of a set of axons, cells that lost their source of interaction react by secreting neurotrophins to induce other axons to form collateral sprouts.

95
Q

Denervation Supersensitivity

A

Heightened sensitivity to a neurotransmitter after the destruction of an incoming axon. Helps compensate for recreated input.

96
Q

What are the consequences of denervation supersensitivity?

A

In some cases, it enables people to maintain nearly normal behavior even after losing most axons in some pathway, but cacan have some unpleasant side effects such as chronic pain.

97
Q

Phantom Limb

A

A continuing sensation of an amputated body part—can range from tinging to intense pain. The use of an artificial limb can sometimes help.

98
Q

What happens when a limb is severed?

A

The brain reorganizes itself. The parts of the brain once concentrated on that limb can spread to other parts of the body, such as the part of the brain responsible for new missing fingers could receive stimulation from the face but feel it in the missing limb.

99
Q

Deafferented limbs

A

A limb that has lost its afferent (sensory) input.

100
Q

How are deafferented limbs treated?

A

Forcing the subject the use the limb in question by preventing them from using the normal one is the only treatment for it.

Physiological Psychology (8 decks)

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