Modules 13-15 Vocabulary Flashcards
: the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
Corpus callosum
: a conditioning resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them
Split brain
: our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Consciousness
: the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory and language)
Cognitive neuroscience
:: the principe that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Dual processing
: the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
Behavior genetics
: every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us
Environment
: threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain genes
Chromosomes
a complex module containing the genetic information that makes up chromosomes
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid):
: the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins
Genes
: the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes
Genome
twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms
Identical twins (monozygotic twins):
): twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment
Fraternal twins (dizygotic twins
: the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes
Molecular genetics
: the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. This of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studies
Heritability
: the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)
Interaction
: the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change
Epigenetics
: the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection
Evolutionary psychology
: the principles that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction ad survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Natural selection
: a random error in gene replication that leads to a change
Mutation
