Session 4

Question 1

Behavioural genetics

Answer 1

Field concerned with how genes and the environment INTERACT to influence individual behaviour

Question 2

Epigenetics

Answer 2

Study of heritable changes in gene expression that doesn’t involve changes to underlying dna sequence

Sometimes things in our environment can cause a gene to turn on or off

Question 3

Behavioural genomics

Answer 3

Study of multiple genes and numerous environmental factors that influence behaviour

VERY often it’s not a single gene that causes a trait or disorder

Question 4

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 4

How our thoughts, feelings, behaviours have been shaped by evolutionary forces

Question 5

Eugenics

Answer 5

Selective breeding of humans

Question 6

How do you ethically study nature nurture in humans

Answer 6

Study family members with different degrees of genetic relatedness

Identical twins vs siblings vs adopted siblings

Question 7

Quantitative genetics

Answer 7

Scientific discipline in which similarities among individuals are analyzed based on how biologically related they are

We assign a quantitative value to those similarities

Question 8

Heritability coefficient

Answer 8

A number between 0-1 that speaks to how much something is influenced by genetic factors

Everything partially inherited

Question 9

3 problems with heritability quotient

Answer 9

1- if environmental requirements are all met, we over estimate the effect of genes

2-heritability coefficients are measures of variability of dependent factors and they do terrible traits with little variability

3- heritability coefficient doesn’t take into account interaction

Question 10

What’s a gene

Answer 10

Segments of dna

Basic biological unit that transmits characteristics from one generation to the next

Question 11

How many genes in a human cell

Answer 11

25000

Question 12

Types of nucleotide (staircases in the double helix)

Answer 12

Adenine
Guanine
Cytosine
Thymine

Question 13

How many genes do humans share

Answer 13

99.9% define what we are as a species

The 0.1% makes us different

Question 14

What is personality in terms of genes

Answer 14

Traits that are stable in the individual but vary in the population

Question 15

5 factor model

Answer 15

-openness
-conscientiousness
-extraversion/introversion
-agreeableness
-neuroticism

Question 16

Natural selection

Answer 16

A good memory to remember the plant that made me sick

Fast legs to run from tiger

Question 17

Sexual selection

Answer 17

What makes me attractive to a mate so my genes are passed on

Question 18

Parental investment

Women and men

Answer 18

Women- need to be more careful to pick their partners cus the minimal investment is greater (pregnancy)

Men- minimal investment is just sex. Not that picky

Question 19

Phenotype

Answer 19

Observable characteristics

Question 20

Genotype

Answer 20

Organisms complete genetic material

Question 21

Epigenetics

Answer 21

Study of differences in gene expression without changes to dna structure

Question 22

Epigenetics

Answer 22

Study of differences in gene expression without changes to dna structure

Question 23

What does it mean when a gene is “turned off”

Answer 23

No longer providing information to make certain proteins

Question 24

How do genes change without changing the dna

Answer 24

Adding a chemical (methyl group) to some of the nucleotides

Sequence is the same. Just a chemical is added

Question 25

Histone

Answer 25

Adding a chemical to the binding that helps wind the string of the dna

Question 26

Histone and depression

Answer 26

Ppl with depression had histone markers that suggested less gene expression involved in emotional regulation

Question 27

Methylation

Answer 27

A methyl group added to genes

Question 28

How do antidepressants work

Answer 28

Increased histone markers on increased gene expression

Reversed gene expression induced by defeat stress