PSYCH 275: Ch 1-5

Erin Scully (Goat)

Behavioural Neuroscience

study of the relationship between behaviour and body, specifically the brain

Behaviour

overt and covert events

Overt

external behaviour that can be observed and measured

Covert

internal behaviour that cannot be easily/immediately observed nor measured (ie thoughts, emotionm etc)

Dualism

mind and body areseparate

Monism

the idea that the mind and body consist of the same substance

Materialistic Monism

view that body and mind and all involved processes are physical

Model

a proposed mechanism for how something functions

Empiricism

method of gathering information through observation/experience

Luigi Galvani

used electricity to stimulate the nerves of frog legs, causing the legs to twitch

Fritsch and Hitzig

stimulated the brains of live dogs, causing movements of the dogs bodies; discovering that the brain controlled movement and that there are specific areas of the brain designated to particular movements

Hermann von Heimholtz

discovered that the brain does not act like conductive wires and that the speed of electricity in living organisms is significantly slower than within conductive wires

Localization

specific areas of the brain carry out specific functions

Phrenology

pseudoscience involving the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits out of 35 faculties of emotion/intellect

Equipotentiality

brain functions as an undifferentiated whole

Gene

biological unit that directs cellular processes and transmits inherited

characteristics

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

double-stranded double helix chain of chemical molecules

Zygote

fertilized egg which undergoes rapid cell division and development on its way to becoming a functioning organism

Embryo

new organism within 8 weeks of development

Fetus

organism at developmental stage between 8 weeks and birth

Alleles

different versions of a gene

Phenotype

an observable characteristic

Genotype

particular allele combination

X-linked

characteristics or traits that are influenced by genes on the X chromosome

Polygenic

characteristics determined by several genes

Genome

complete set of genes in an organism

Human Genome Project

project with the goal to map the location of all the genes on human chromosomes

Gene Expression

translation of encoded information into proteins

Natural Selection

genes endow organisms with more adaptive traits that increase their likelihood to survive and reproduce

Heritability

percentage of the variation in a characteristic attributed to genetic factors

Vulnerability

impact of genes contribution to the predisposition for a disorder