S tudy Questions Introduction 1 Understand the 4 different ways to look at behaviors in biological psychology a Physiological explanation i Relates a behavior to the brain and other organ activity ii Why did she run from the tiger Her sympathetic nervous system was activated inducing the release of certain neurotransmitters and hormones allowing her to run quickly b Ontogenetic explanation i From to be and origin ii Describes the development of a structure or behavior genes iii nutrition experience Impulse control my husband has better impulse control than my 6 year old who has better impulse control than my 3 year old Why Impulse control develops gradually from infancy into young adulthood reflecting gradual maturation of the prefrontal cortex c Evolutionary explanation d Functional explanation i Examines structure or behavior in terms of evolutionary history ii Examples similar birdsongs goosebumps iii Explanation for why some species songs closely resemble those of other species perhaps that the 2 species evolved form a single ancestor also goosebumps make hair stand on end so creature looks bigger than it really is i Describes why a behavior evolved as it did ii iii Usually only the male sings and he only sings during the Identifies an advantage male birds sing to mate camouflage reproductive seasons and in his own territory function of bird song is to attract females and warn away other males another example an animals behavior and appearance could camouflage it or make it look like something else for escaping predators or tricking prey Zone tailed hawk looks and flies like a vulture s prey ignore it 2 Why can we use animal research to understand human processes a The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to study in nonhuman species b Non human vertebrates have similar anatomy chemistry and physiology as humans squid giant axon c Even invertebrate nerves follow same basic principles as our own Ex d What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution Certain experiments cannot use humans because of legal or ethical restrictions i Electrophysiology ii Developmental biology ocular dominance columns sensitive periods for development etc iii Repair after brain damage etc e Animal research has done more good then harm therefore we continue to do it 3 Understand the points in Animal Research Fact vs Fiction a T or F computer models and cell cultures can replace animal testing i F even the most sophisticated technology models cannot mimic the complex cellular interactions that occur in a living system b T or F Dogs cats and monkeys are used more than any other animal in medical research i F mice and rates bred for research BTW dogs essential for research in cardiovascular disease c T or F Lost stolen pets are sold to laboratories i F most bred for research a few come from death row or pounds fewer still purchased from USDA licensed dealers d T or F there are no laws or government regulations to protect research or i F Institutional ACUC is required by law e T or F there is no need to test consumer products on animals some animals companies don t i F obligated to for public safety many products ingredients were previously tested on animals Chapter 1 Genetics 1 What is heritability how do we study it what are twin and adoption studies what do their results tell us and what are the problems with studying it a Heritability is the estimate of how much of the variance in a characteristic within a population is due to differences in heredity genes b Twin Studies Monozygotic MZ vs Dizygotic DZ Twins i Resemblance MZ identical DZ fraternal cid 224 High Heritability ii Resemblance MZ identical DZ fraternal cid 224 low heritability c Adoption Studies if adopted kids resemble biological parents more than adoptive parents we assume high heritability d Problems with estimating heritability i Twin studies MZ twins share chorion and blood supply ie more similar prenatal environment compared to DZ twins so could be genetics or could be prenatal environment ii Adoption Studies biological children of low IQ or mentally ill parents tend to have similar problems even if raised by great adoptive parents Could be genetics BUT could be reflection of poor prenatal environment iii Another problem with estimating heritability 1 Genes predispose you to behaviors and to different treatment by others 2 Multiplier effect genes or prenatal influences cid 224 increase tendency cid 224 cid 223 environment facilitates it a Ex temper tantrums attractiveness athletics b What started out as potentially small effect of genes ends up having a huge behavioral result leading to an overestimation of heritability iv Environmental influences CAN affect a trait with high heritability 2 What are examples of environmental influences on traits with otherwise high heritability a Ex Mice in elevated plus maze i Some genetic strains tend to stay in walled arms others venture out onto open arms BUT sometimes a strain that is unadventurous in one lab is more adventurous in another Depends on exactly how the researchers handle the mice maybe odors in the room b Ex Phenylketonuria PKU mental retardation due to genetic inability to metabolize phenylalanine an amino acid i Genetic inability to metabolize phenylalanine If untreated PKU accumulates to toxic levels cid 224 impairs brain development children are mentally retarded restless irritable this is caused by recessive gene 1 of Europeans carry it In babies with high levels of phenylalanine in blood or urine diets low in phenylalanine can minimize brain damage Have to stay on diet for life and PKU moms have to be very careful in pregnancy Difficult diet avid eggs meat dairy grains aspartame which is 50 phenylalanine ii Moral of story inherited or genetic does not necessarily equal unmodifiable although sometimes it does 3 What is a sex linked gene Understand the heritability of sex linked genes What is a sex limited gene What are examples of each sex linked and sex limited a The genes on the sex chromosome X and Y usually on the X because it has lots more genes on it than the Y b Consider a gene on the X chromosome If a male gets this gene he will display the trait i ii A female must get it on BOTH of her X chromosomes to display iii the trait If a female has it on 1 X chromosome and not the other she is a carrier usually have a family history sometimes due to a c Sex linked genes spontaneous mutation d Some sex linked genes Fragile
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