Chapter 4

Nature vs. Nurture debate

Is it the responsibility of an individual's genetic
makeup that makes them a criminal or is it the
environment in which they are raised that
determines their outcome?

Is there a gene for alcoholism? Can the gene

itself cause alcoholism? Does environment
matter if you are predisposed to a disorder?
 Genetics of Reproduction
Genes basic units of genetic information
composed of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
Chromosomes rod-shaped portions of DNA that
are organized in 23 pairs
Human Genome: approx. 22,000 genes
 Genetic Principles
Dominant-Recessive Genes
Genes come in pairs for each trait
Dominant genes always exert its
eects overriding the potential
inuence of the recessive gene

Polygenetic Inheritance
Interaction of many separate
genes and environmental factors
Which of these traits do you have?
I can roll my tongue
I have detached earlobes
I have dimples
I am right-handed
I have curly hair
I have freckles
I cross my left thumb over my right when I clasp
my hands together
I have allergies
I have a widows peak (pointy hairline)
 Heredity and Environment
Identical (monozygotic) twins
vs. Fraternal (dizygotic) twins

Biological parents vs. Adopted

parents

Heritability how much

characteristics depend on genetic
dierences
 Heredity-Environment Correlations
Passive genotype-environment correlations:
occur because biological parents (genetically
related) provide the rearing environment

Evocative genotype-environment correlations:

childs characteristics (genetics) elicit certain
types of environments

Active (niche-picking) genotype-environment

correlations: children seek out environments
they nd compatible and stimulating
 Environmental
Inuences
Shared environmental
experiences: siblings common
experiences

Non-shared environmental
experiences: a childs unique
experiences within and outside
of the family
 How do genes change?
Mutation heritable change in a DNA molecule
Epigenesis - changes in gene expression as a result
of environmental inuences
 Teratogens
Environmental eects on prenatal
development resulting in negative
outcomes (not genetic disorders)
Drugs
Incompatible blood types
Environmental pollutants
Infectious diseases
Nutritional deciencies
Maternal stress
Advanced age
 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Symptoms
Hyperactivity
Attention diculties
Mental retardation
Motor problems
Heart defects
Facial abnormalities

Suppression of glutamate and increased release

of GABA apoptosis
 Fetal abuse
The eects of Drugs and Alcohol
http://fod.infobase.com.ezproxy.occlib.nocccd.edu/
p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=10383&loid=2854&tScript=0#
 Are low doses of alcohol OK?
Peter Heppers research

Theres no safe limit...

Startle reex
Developmental and
learning delays
Link to ADHD?

https://
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vywUOQFo0JI
 Brain Development
Adolescents tend to be more
impulsive than adults
Immature prefrontal cortex

Old age
Loss and slowing down of
synapses
Underestimated older people

Exercise important!
Plasticity of the Brain
 Neuroplasticity
Brain's capacity to be shaped by experience,
its capacity to learn and remember and ability
to reorganize and recover after injury
 Experience & Stimulation

The brain has some ability

to reorganize itself in
response to experience

Enriched environment
thicker cortex, increased
dendritic branching and
improved learning
 Woollett & Maguire (2011)
Aspiring London taxi drivers
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan
before taxi training and 4 years later
 Results
At the start of the
study - similar size
hippocampi

4 years later - larger

hippocampi in taxi
drivers
 Music Training
Temporal lobe of
professional
musicians in the right
hemisphere is 30%
larger than non-
musicians

More gray matter

hand control and
vision areas
When Brain Reorganization Goes Too Far
Focal hand dystonia - result of extensive
reorganization of the sensory thalamus and
cortex so that touch responses to one nger
overlap those of another
Plasticity after brain damage
 Stroke
Temporary loss of blood ow to the brain
Most common cause of brain damage
 Collateral or axon sprouting
Collateral sprouts - new branches formed by
other non-damaged axons that attach to
vacant receptors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=VaDlLD97CLM
 Denervation Supersensitivity
Heightened
sensitivity to a
neurotransmitter
after the
destruction of an
incoming axon
Reorganized Sensory Representations
Phantom limb: the continuation of sensation
of an amputated body part
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ySIDMU2cy0Y