Chapter 8: Behavioral Genetics Flashcards
co-discoverer of double-helix structure of DNA and former head of the Human Genome Project
James D. Watson
Who said, “ We used to think that our fate was in our stars. Now we know, in large part, that our fate is in our genes.”
James D. Watson
- biologist at the University of California-Berlekey and editor of Science magazine
Daniel E. Koshland Jr.
Who said, ‘the nature/nurture debate is over and genes influence many aspects of behaviour’
Daniel E. Koshland Jr.
the scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of “racial improvement” and “planned breeding
Eugenetics
- Father of Eugenics
- cousin of Charles Darwin; convinced by appearance of geniuses within families that intelligence is inherited
Francis Galton (1865)
Who said, -‘human society can be improved through better breeding’ in an article entitled ‘Hereditary Talent and Character’
Francis Galton (1865)
the word ‘Eugenics’ from Greek for ‘__ __’
good birth
-studied identical twins to demonstrate that nature prevails enormously over nurture
-wrote that it is ‘possible to produce a highly gifted race of men by judicious marriages during several consecutive generations.’
Francis Galton (1865)
American sexual libertarian who said, ‘while the good man will be limited by his conscience to what the law allows, the bad man, free from moral check, will distribute his seed beyond the legal limit’.
Humphrey Noyes
- ability to be a naval officer is a heritable trait composed of subtraits for thalassophilia (love of the sea) and hyperkineticism (wanderlust)
- trait is unique to males
- sponsored ‘Fitter Families Contests’
Humphrey Noyes
- founder of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory;
- founded American Eugenics Society in 1920
- tried to prove heritability of traits as pauperism feeblemindedness and criminality
Charles Davenport (1919)
practiced euthanasia (good death) of the mentally and physically disabled, Jews, Gypsies, Catholics and others in Nazi Germany and occupied countries
Adolf Hitler
What country? When? the prime minister promoted policies that encouraged middle class Singaporeans to bear children and discouraged childbearing by the poor and uneducated
Singapore (1983)
What did the National Academy of Sciences publish in 1993 regarding the Double Y chromosome?
no evidence to support a link between having an extra Y chromosome and violent behavior.
What did follow-up studies indicate about Double Y men?
tend to be taller and score slightly lower on intelligence tests but are otherwise normal.
What does the University of Minnesota twin study suggest about the influence of genetics on personality and temperament?
twins raised apart were about as similar as those raised together.
Who said, ‘If you bring together strangers who were born the same day in the same country and ask them to find similarities between them, you may find a lot of seemingly astounding coincidences’.
Richard Rose (Indiana University)
Who?
- Minnesota study had inconsistencies and was possibly fraudulent
- biased selection method
- Minnesota study relied on media coverage to recruit twins ‘twins interested in publicity and willing to support it’
Leon Kamin (Northeastern University)
How might genes contribute to the development of schizophrenia according to E. Fuller Torrey?
Genes might create a susceptibility to in utero viral infections that could lead to schizophrenia.
Who reported discovering a genetic marker for alcoholism in 1990?
Kenneth Blum of the University of Texas Health Science Center
What is the name of the genetic marker for alcoholism reported by Kenneth Blum?
A1 allele
What have recent researches revealed about the link between the A1 allele and alcoholism?
no such link between the A1 allele and alcoholism
Gay Genes
- Who conducted a study in 1991 focusing on a neural structure related to sexual orientation?
- What neural structure did he study about sexual orientation?
- What is the function of that?
- What’s the finding?
- Simon LeVay of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego
- interstitial nucleus in the hypothalamus
- interstitial nucleus controls sexual response.
- interstitial nucleus was almost twice as large in heterosexual males compared to homosexual males and women.
Gay Genes
What groups did Simon LeVay compare in his study?
nuclear structure in the brains of:
- 19 homosexual males,
- 6 heterosexual women
-16 heterosexual males.
Gay Genes
LeVay postulated that the interstitial nucleus is ‘large in individuals oriented toward __-whether male or female.’
women
- a researcher at the National Cancer Institute studying a strain of fruit flies that court other males.
- What names did she give to the fruit flies that court other males?
- Angela Pattatucci
- “fruity” or “fruitless”
What is considered the best, most usable measure of intelligence?
IQ (Intelligence Quotient)
According to Jensen (1969) and Herrnstein (1971), what is the estimated contribution of heredity and environment to intelligence?
80% heredity and 20% environment
What do heredity and environmental factors provide in terms of intelligence? (2)
- heredity provides individual with upper and lower limits of intelligence
- realization of particular IQ depends upon environmental factors
Two views of behavioral genetics (2)
- Gene –> Bebhavior (linear)
- Gene networks + Environment –> Behavior (multiple lines)
What are the classical methods for studying the relationship between genes and behavior? (2)
- twins (same genes, different environments)
- adoptees (different genes, same environment)
__ is the fraction of total variability due to genetic differences. It is determined by studying twins and adoptees.
Heritability
Classical Methods for Studying the Relationship between Genes and Behavior (Studying twins and adoptees)
- What has research using linkage mapping revealed about schizophrenia and bipolar disorder?
Dozens of loci have been identified, but only a few have been replicated in at least one study, and none in every study. No specific genes have been definitively found.
Classical Methods for Studying the Relationship between Genes and Behavior (Studying twins and adoptees)
- What is known about the genetic basis of personality traits such as neuroticism and novelty seeking?
Specific genes have been found, but they account for only a few percent of total variance.
What are some complications in behavior gene discovery? (5)
- Complications
- Multiple genes
- Environment is important
- Pleiotropy
- Measurement
refers to the phenomenon where a single gene can have multiple effects on different traits or phenotypes.
pleiotropy
What is emphasized in the understanding of the relationship between genes and behavior? How to do a powerful study?
It is emphasized that there is a long way between genes and behavior, and it may be more powerful to study genetic effects on the brain, as the brain mediates behavior.
Behavior is Multifactorial (show the connections)
One trait <- Many genes; One gene -> many traits —> Gene ≠ Behavior
a phenomenon where a trait is controlled by multiple genetic variants scattered across the genome.
polygenicity
