psych notes

psychology

he science of behavior and mental processes

monism

seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing

dualism

seeing mind and body as two different things that interact

Nature/Nurture

the extent to which behavior results from heredity or experiencePlato and Descartes believed that behavior is inborn (nature).Aristotle, Locke, Watson, and Skinner believed that behavior results from experience(nurture).

structuralism

early psychological perspective that emphasized units of consciousness and identification of elements of thought using introspection

Wilhelm Wundt

founder of scientific psychology in Leipzig, Germany; studied consciousness using introspection

G. Stanley Hall

brought introspection to his lab at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.; first president of the American Psychological Association.

Mary Calkins

first woman president of the American Psychological Association.

Edward Titchener

studied elements of consciousness at his Cornell University lab. Margaret Floy Washburn—first woman to complete her Ph.D. in psychology.

Functionalism

early psychological perspective concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to adapt to its environment.

William James

wrote *Principles of Psychology.*

Behavioral approach

psychological perspective concerned with behavioral reactions to stimuli; learning as a result of experience.

Ivan Pavlov

known for classical conditioning of dogs.

John Watson

known for experiments in classical aversive conditioning. B. F. Skinner—known for experiments in operant conditioning.

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic approach

psychological perspective concerned with how unconscious instincts, conflicts, motives, and defenses influence behavior.

Sigmund Freud

“Father of psychoanalysis.”

Jung, Adler, Horney, Kohut

psychodynamic psychologists.

Humanistic approach

psychological perspective concerned with individual potential for growth and the role of unique perceptions in growth toward one’s potential.

Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow

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humanistic psychologists.

Biological approach

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psychological perspective concerned with physiological and biochemical factors that determine behavior and mental processes

Cognitive approach

psychological perspective concerned with how we receive, store, and process information; think/reason; and use language.

Jean Piaget

studied cognitive development in children.

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Evolutionary approach

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psychological perspective concerned with how natural selection favored behaviors that contributed to survival and spread of our ancestors’ genes; evolutionary psychologists take a Darwinian approach to the study of human behavior.

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Sociocultural approach

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—psychological perspective concerned with how cultural differences affect behavior.

Eclectic

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use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches.

Theories

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organized sets of concepts that explain phenomena.

Hypothesis

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prediction of how two or more factors are likely to be related.

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Neuropsychologists

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—those who explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior. Neuropsychologists are also called biological psychologists or bio-psychologists, behavioral geneticists, physiological psychologists, and behavioral neuroscientists.

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Lesions

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—precise destruction of brain tissue, enables more systematic study of the loss of function resulting from surgical removal (also called ablation), cutting of neural connections, or destruction by chemical applications.

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Computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT)

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—creates a computerized image using x-rays passed through the brain to show structure and/or the extent of a lesion.

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

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—creates more detailed computerized images using a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves that cause emission of signals that depend upon the density of tissue.

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EEG (electroencephalogram)

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—an amplified tracing of brain activity produced when electrodes positioned over the scalp transmit signals about the brain’s electrical activity (“brain waves”) to an electroencephalograph machine.

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Evoked potentials

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—EEGs resulting from a response to a specific stimulus presented to the subject.

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Positron emission tomography (PET)

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—shows brain activity when radioactively tagged glucose rushes to active neurons and emits positrons.

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Functional MRI (fMRI)

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—shows brain activity at higher resolution than the PET scan when changes in oxygen concentration near active neurons alter magnetic qualities.

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Central nervous system (CNS)

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—brain and spinal cord.

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Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

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—portion of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord; includes all of the sensory and motor neurons, and subdivisions called the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.

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Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

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—subdivision of PNS that includes motor nerves that innervate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle. Its sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for “fight or flight”; the parasympathetic nervous system causes bodily changes for maintenance or rest.

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Sympathetic nervous system

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—subdivision of PNS and ANS whose stimulation results in responses that help your body deal with stressful events.

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Parasympathetic nervous system

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—subdivision of PNS and ANS whose stimulation calms your body following sympathetic stimulation by restoring normal body processes.

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Somatic nervous system

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—subdivision of PNS that includes motor nerves that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscles.

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Spinal cord

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—portion of the central nervous system below the level of the medulla.

Convolutions

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—folding-in and out of the cerebral cortex that increases surface area of the brain.

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Contralaterality

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—control of one side of your body by the other side of your brain.

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Medulla oblongata

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—regulates heart rhythm, blood flow, breathing rate, digestion, vomiting.

Pons

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—includes portion of reticular activating system or reticular formation critical for arousal and wakefulness; sends information to and from medulla, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex.

Cerebellum

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—controls posture, equilibrium, and movement.

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Basal ganglia

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—regulates initiation of movements, balance, eye movements, and posture.

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Thalamus

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—relays visual, auditory, taste, and somatosensory information to/from appropriate areas of cerebral cortex.

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Hypothalamus

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—controls feeding behavior, drinking behavior, body temperature, sexual behavior, threshold for rage behavior, activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, and secretion of hormones of the pituitary.

Amygdala

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—influences emotions such as aggression, fear, and self-protective behaviors.

Hippocampus

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—enables formation of new long-term memories.

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Cerebral cortex

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—center for higher-order processes such as thinking, planning, judgment; receives and processes sensory information and directs movement.

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Association areas

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—areas of the cerebral cortex that do not have specific sensory or motor functions, but are involved in higher mental functions such as thinking, planning, and communicating.

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Occipital lobes

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—primary area for processing visual information.

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Parietal lobes

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—front strip is somatosensory cortex that processes sensory information including touch, temperature, and pain from body parts; association areas perceive objects.

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Frontal lobes

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—interpret and control emotional behaviors, make decisions, carry out plans; motor cortex strip just in front of somatosensory cortex initiates movements and integrates activities of skeletal muscles; produces speech (Broca’s area).

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Temporal lobes

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—primary area for hearing, understanding language (Wernicke’s area), understanding music/tonality, processing smell.

Aphasia

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—impairment of the ability to understand or use language.

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Glial cells

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—supportive cells of the nervous system that guide the growth of developing neurons, help provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neurons, and form an insulating sheath around neurons that speeds conduction.

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Neuron

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—the basic unit of structure and function of your nervous system. Neurons perform three major functions: receive information, process it, and transmit it to the rest of your body. Terms relating to the structure and function of the neuron include:

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Cell body

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—also called the cyton or soma; the part of the neuron that contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters.

Dendrites

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—branching tubular processes of a neuron that have receptor sites for receiving information.

Axon

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—a long, single conducting fiber extending from the cell body of a neuron that transmits an action potential and that branches and ends in tips called terminal buttons (a.k.a. axon terminals, or synaptic knobs), which secrete neurotransmitters.

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Myelin sheath

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—a fatty covering of the axon made by glial cells, which speeds up conduction of the action potential.

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Terminal buttons (a.k.a. axon terminals, end bulbs, or synaptic knobs)

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—tips at the end of axons that secrete neurotransmitters when stimulated by the action potential.

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Neurotransmitters

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—chemical messengers released by the terminal buttons of the presynaptic neuron into the synapse. Different neurotransmitters have different chemical structures and perform different tasks:

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Acetylcholine (ACh)

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—a neurotransmitter that causes contraction of skeletal muscles, helps regulate heart muscles, is involved in memory, and also transmits messages between the brain and spinal cord. Lack of ACh is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Dopamine

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—a neurotransmitter that stimulates the hypothalamus to synthesize hormones and affects alertness, attention, and movement. Lack of dopamine is associated with Parkinson’s disease; too much is associated with schizophrenia.

Glutamate

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—a neurotransmitter that stimulates cells throughout the brain, but especially in the hypothalamus, and is associated with memory formation and information processing.

Serotonin

Endorphin—a neurotransmitter associated with arousal, sleep, appetite, moods, and emotions. Lack of serotonin is associated with depression.

Endorphin

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—a neurotransmitter similar to the opiate morphine that relieves pain and may induce feelings of pleasure.

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

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—a neurotransmitter that inhibits firing of postsynaptic neurons. Huntington’s disease and seizures are associated with malfunctioning GABA systems.

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Action potential

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—also called an impulse, the “firing” of a neuron; a net flow of sodium ions into the cell that causes a rapid change in potential across the membrane when stimulation reaches threshold.

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All-or-none principle

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—the law that the neuron either generates an action potential when the stimulation reaches threshold or doesn’t fire when stimulation is below threshold. The strength of the action potential is constant whenever it occurs.

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Nodes of Ranvier

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—spaces between segments of myelin on the axons of neurons. Saltatory conduction—rapid conduction of impulses when the axon is myelinated since depolarizations jump from node (of Ranvier) to node.

Synapse

—region of communication between the transmitting presynaptic neuron and receiving postsynaptic neuron, muscle, or gland, consisting of the presynaptic terminal buttons, a tiny space, and receptor sites typically on the postsynaptic dendrites.

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Excitatory neurotransmitter

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—chemical secreted at terminal button that causes the neuron on the other side of the synapse to generate an action potential (to fire).

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Inhibitory neurotransmitter

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—chemical secreted at terminal button that reduces or prevents neural impulses in the postsynaptic dendrites.

Reflex

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—the simplest form of behavior.

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Reflex arc

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—the path over which the reflex travels, which typically includes the following:

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Sensory receptor

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—cell typically in sense organs that initiates action potentials, which then travel along sensory/afferent neurons to the CNS.

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Afferent neuron

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—also called sensory neuron; nerve cell in your PNS that transmits impulses from receptors to the brain or spinal cord.

Interneuron

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—nerve cell in the CNS that transmits impulses between sensory and motor neurons. Neural impulses travel one way along the neuron from dendrites to axons to terminal buttons, and among neurons from the receptor to the effector.

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Efferent neuron

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—also called motor neuron; nerve cell in your PNS that transmits impulses from sensory or interneurons to muscle cells that contract or gland cells that secrete.

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Effector

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—muscle cell that contracts or gland cell that secretes.

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Endocrine system

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—ductless glands that typically secrete hormones directly into the blood, which help regulate body and behavioral processes. Components of the endocrine system include:

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Hormone

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—chemical messenger that travels through the blood to a receptor site on a target organ.

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Pineal gland

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—endocrine gland in brain that produces melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythms and is associated with seasonal affective disorder.

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Hypothalamus

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—portion of brain part that acts as endocrine gland and produces hormones that stimulate (releasing factors) or inhibit secretion of hormones by the pituitary.

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Pituitary gland (sometimes called “master gland”)

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—endocrine gland in brain that produces stimulating hormones, which promote secretion by other glands including TSH–thyroid-stimulating hormone; ACTH–adrenocorticotropic hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands; FSH, which stimulates egg or sperm production; ADH (antidi-uretic hormone) to help retain water in your body; and HGH (human growth hormone).

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Thyroid gland

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—endocrine gland in neck that produces thyroxine, which stimulates and maintains metabolic activities.

Parathyroids

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—endocrine glands in neck that produce parathyroid hormone, which helps maintain calcium ion level in blood necessary for normal functioning of neurons.

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Adrenal glands

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—endocrine glands atop kidneys. Adrenal cortex—the outer layer—produces steroid hormones such as cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Adrenal medulla—the core—secretes adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepi-nephrine), which prepare the body for “fight or flight” like the sympathetic nervous system.

Pancreas

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—gland near stomach that secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood sugar that fuels all behavioral processes. Imbalances result in diabetes and hypoglycemia.

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Ovaries and testes

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—gonads in females and males, respectively, that produce hormones necessary for reproduction and development of secondary sex characteristics.

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Turner syndrome

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—females with only one X sex chromosome who are short, often sterile, and have difficulty calculating.

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Klinefelter’s syndrome

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—males with XXY sex chromosomes.

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Down syndrome

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—usually with three copies of chromosome-21 in their cells, individuals who are typically mentally retarded and have a round head, flat nasal bridge, protruding tongue, small round ears, a fold in the eyelid, and poor muscle tone and coordination.

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Tay-Sachs syndrome

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—recessive trait that produces progressive loss of nervous function and death in a baby.