Behavioral Genetics - Psychology

What are brains made up of?

proteins which are coded by DNA packaged into chromosomes

DNA code serves as instructions for making?

different types of protein

What Creates Neuronal Diversity?

The precise order and timing of gene expression creates neuronal diversity

Is the blueprint for a brain conserved across evolution

The blueprint of your brain is highly conserved across evolution small differences can have big effects

How can minor differences in the DNA blueprint make for significant differences?

Can affect organisms physical characteristics as genes are mutated or the DNA is altered

What is a genotype?

the sequence of letters of your genome mostly inherited from parents

What is phenotype?

a measurable trait- height, weight, how high we can jump, and metabolism

Do genes work in isolations?

No

How do genes, environment, and phenotypes interact?

alters gene expression and epigenetic the opening and closing process can be altered by your environment.

What is epigenetic?

The study of how cells control gene activity without changing the DNA sequence

What is heritability?

How much of a phenotype is inherited due to genetic factors

What do twin studies show about heritability of phenotypes?

twin studies find many phenotypes are somewhat heritable and somewhat more heritable in monozygotic vs dizygotic twins

How is heritability a fraught topic?

guessing peoples phenotype by knowing their genotype this is incorrect you can’t guess peoples hair colors by their genotype

Can we make an accurate predication about a phenotype based on genotype?

No eugenics is a real risk remember that both genetics and environment are important it is the final say not our genes

Do neuropsycharitc disorders have a genetic basis?

Both genes and enviornment play a role in some of these disorders hemideletion and duplication are linked to autism and psychosis.