Evolution & Genetics

Question 1

What is natural selection?

Answer 1

heritable traits means high rates of survival and reproduction therefore these traits past and future generations

Question 2

What is survival of the fittest

Answer 2

Nature selectively breeds the fittest by letting them survive for long enough to breed and pass on the trait

Question 3

What are humans the product of?

Answer 3

We are the offspring of many homo populations that once coexisted not a single ancestral population

Question 4

Explain the change in human brain size

Answer 4

It increased rapidly
It is large relative to our body brain ratio

Increased for movement and sensing the environment

Question 5

How are human brains different to other brains

Answer 5

Brain complexity is higher neocortex is specially developed and complex there is a high number of convolutions and brain folds

Question 6

Who is Gregor Mendel

Answer 6

He studied the inheritance in plants specifically peas for dichotomous traits

Question 7

What did mendal find

Answer 7

The dominant trait appeared in all of the first generation

However these plants had heterozygous traits

1/4 of the second generation had homos I guess recessive traits and showed the recessive phenotype

Question 8

What is a phenotype

Answer 8

Observable traits

Question 9

What is a genotype

Answer 9

Set of genes transferred from parents to off spring

Our genetic make up

Question 10

What is the evidence in twin studies for nature versus nurture

Answer 10

70% of intelligence can be attributed to genetic inheritance
30% attributed to other factors such as the environment

Research is found the twins reared apart were just as likely to be similar than twins reared together

Question 11

What are cerebral lesions

Answer 11

It is an injury that shows us the functions of specific brain regions given behaviour shows a cognitive impairment allowing us to determine the area of function

Question 12

What are the two types of lesions

Answer 12

Irreversible and reversible

Question 13

Explain irreversible lesions

Answer 13

Sectioning off tracts and bundles knife cuts are used to disconnect certain regions for the brain

Question 14

What are reversible lesions

Answer 14

Involve temporal inactivation of specific regions by means of micro injections of local anaesthetics or iron channel blockers. also cooling down the brain it’s an advantage because it means the animal can be its own control as you can see the effects before during and after

Question 15

What does TMS stand for

Answer 15

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Question 16

What is transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 16

Electrodes on brain surface electrical currents passed through temporary disrupts activity has been used to treat migraines, stroke, parkinsons and depression

Question 17

What are the two forms of electrophysiological readings?

Answer 17

EEG - electroncephalology

ERPS - event related potentials

Question 18

What is EEG?

Answer 18

Large electrodes placed on the scalp or deep into the brain

Different brain waves indicate different stares of arousal.

It’s a chart not an image

Question 19

Disadvantages of EEG?

Answer 19

Can’t tell about individual neurons instead only the sum of them

Question 20

What is ERPS?

Answer 20

EEG activity averaged to different stimuli presented during cognitive tasks to see which neurons become activated

Question 21

What are the structural forms of neuroimaging

Answer 21

CT - computerised axial tomography

MRI magnetic resonance imaging

Question 22

What’s a CT scan?

Answer 22

Xrays to create a 3D image of the brain.

Good to see blood or swelling

Question 23

What is MRI?

Answer 23

Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create a 3D image of the brain

Used to determine pathological tissue from normal tissue

Question 24

What are the two functional neuroimaging techniques?

Answer 24

PET- position emission tomography

fMRI- functional magnetic resonance imaging

Question 25

What are PET scans?

Answer 25

Radioactive material (glucose) is injected and radiation is measured to see where brain becomes actives during particular tasks.

Question 26

What is fMRI?

Answer 26

Uses MRI to look at where the brain becomes activated during cognitive tasks (which part uses oxygen from the blood) neurons firing a lot require more oxygen

Question 27

What are epigenetic’s

Answer 27

Switching jeans on and off physically altering genes