Psychosurgery and its Effects

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Questions and Answers

What is a key advantage of dominant males in terms of passing on their characteristics?

They have stronger physical features

They have a larger territory

They have better foraging abilities

They copulate more frequently (correct)

What is a key difference between dominant and low-ranking females in some species?

Dominant females produce more and healthier offspring (correct)

Dominant females have a larger territory

Dominant females have stronger physical features

Low-ranking females have better foraging abilities

What is the primary purpose of courtship displays?

To signal interest to a potential mate (correct)

To intimidate rivals

To mark territory

To establish dominance

What can be a result of the evolution of an idiosyncratic courtship display?

Formation of a new species Signup and view all the answers

What defines a species?

A group of organisms that can produce fertile offspring only by mating with members of the same group Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of how geographical separation can lead to the formation of a new species?

A group of birds flying to a remote island where they only breed with each other Signup and view all the answers

What is necessary for copulation to occur?

The exchange of appropriate courtship signals Signup and view all the answers

What is a key finding of McCann's (1981) study on elephant seals?

The dominant male accounted for 37% of copulations Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the condition that results from damage to the right parietal lobe and involves a lack of awareness of one's own body parts?

Asomatognosia Signup and view all the answers

According to Darwin, what is the evidence that suggests living species share a common ancestor?

The similarities among living species Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the incidental nonadaptive evolutionary by-products?

Spandrel Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of selective breeding programs on domestic animals and plants?

Major changes Signup and view all the answers

What is the theory that suggests male-female bonding during copulation ensures the survival of offspring?

Evolutionary psychology Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for structures that are similar in different species due to convergent evolution?

Analogous structures Signup and view all the answers

What is the main contribution of Gregor Mendel's work with pea plants?

Explanation of the mechanisms of inheritance Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the physical appearance of an organism?

Phenotype Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which chromosomes exchange genetic material?

Genetic recombination Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the sequence of nucleotide bases that carries the genetic code out of the nucleus?

Messenger RNA Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of promoters in gene expression?

To regulate gene expression Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the process of cell division that produces gametes?

Meiosis Signup and view all the answers

What is the main achievement of the Human Genome Project?

Sequencing of the human genome Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the molecules that carry amino acids to the ribosome during translation?

Transfer RNA Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the alteration of individual genes?

Mutation Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence?

Epigenetics Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of human DNA is made up of protein-encoding genes?

1% Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the study of the mechanisms that influence gene expression without changing the genes themselves?

Epigenetics Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the catalogue of all modifications to DNA within a particular cell type, excluding changes to the nucleotide base sequence?

Epigenome Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the modifications to RNA that occur after transcription, excluding changes to the RNA base sequence?

Epitranscriptome Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the study of the transmission of experiences via epigenetic mechanisms across generations?

Transgenerational epigenetics Signup and view all the answers

What did the study of maze-bright and maze-dull rats by Cooper and Zubek (1958) show?

That maze-dull rats make more errors than maze-bright rats only in impoverished environments Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the development of an individual through their lifespan?

Ontogeny Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the evolutionary development of a species through the ages?

Phylogeny Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the study of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the development of behavioral traits?

Behavioral Development Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the percentage of variation in a trait that can be attributed to genetic factors?

Heritability Signup and view all the answers

What is psychosurgery?

Any brain surgery performed for the treatment of a psychological problem Signup and view all the answers

Why were impression of the operation being therapeutically effective formed?

Based on the physicians who had prescribed the surgery Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the general intellectual climate of our culture?

Zeitgeist Signup and view all the answers

What is a dichotomy?

A simple way of thinking, such as good-bad or right-wrong Signup and view all the answers

What is the flaw in thinking about the biology of behavior in terms of traditional physiological-psychological and nature-nurture dichotomies?

It is too simple Signup and view all the answers

What type of questions are used to illustrate the tendency to think about behavior in terms of dichotomies?

IS IT PHYSIOLOGICAL, OR IS IT PSYCHOLOGICAL? Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important to assess the effects of psychosurgery on a large sample?

To evaluate the long-term effects of the surgery Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of understanding the biology of behavior?

To understand the interaction between the physiological, psychological and environmental factors that influence behavior Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Psychosurgery and the Biology of Behavior

No psychosurgery should be done without a detailed assessment of its effects on a large sample of patients.
Psychosurgery refers to any brain surgery performed for the treatment of a psychological problem.
Patients were often judged as improved if they were more manageable, but this did not necessarily mean they were cured.

The Origins of Dichotomous Thinking

Dichotomy: a simple way of thinking in terms of two opposing extremes, such as good-bad or right-wrong.
Examples of dichotomous thinking include:
- Is it physiological or is it psychological?
- Is it due to nature or nurture?
Studies have shown that dominant males in some species copulate more and are more effective in passing on their characteristics to future generations.
In some species, dominant females are more likely to produce more and healthier offspring.

Courtship Displays and Evolution

Courtship displays are important for evolution because they can promote the formation of new species.
A species is defined as a group of organisms that are reproductively isolated from other organisms.
The evolution of an idiosyncratic courtship display can form a reproductive barrier that is as effective as geographical separation.

Mendelian Genetics

Gregor Mendel discovered the mechanisms of inheritance through his work with pea plants.
Dichotomous traits: characteristics that occur in one form or another, never in combination.
True-breeding lines: interbred members will always produce offspring with the same trait generation after generation.
Mendel's key findings:
- When true-bred brown and white peas are crossed, all the offspring from the first cross have brown seeds, whereas 25% of the offspring from the second cross have white seeds.
- The concept of dominant and recessive traits.
- Each organism possesses two genes for each of its dichotomous traits.
- One of the two kinds of genes for each dichotomous trait dominates the other in heterozygous organisms.

Chromosomes

Chromosomes are threadlike structures in the nucleus of each cell.
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, with an allele on each chromosome.
Meiosis: the process of cell division that produces gametes (egg and sperm cells).
Genetic recombination: the crossover of chromosomes to exchange genetic material, creating diversity.

Genetic Code and Gene Expression

Structural genes: contain information for the synthesis of proteins.
Proteins: long chains of amino acids that control the physiological activities of cells and are important components of cellular structure.
Promoters and enhancers: determine whether particular structural genes are converted into proteins through a two-phase process called gene expression.
Gene expression involves two phases:
1. Transcription: the process of transcribing DNA code into RNA code.
2. Translation: the process of translating RNA code into a protein.

Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 to compile a map of the sequence of all 3 billion nucleotide bases that compose human chromosomes.
The project has led to important insights into evolution and the discovery of the number of structural genes in humans and other species.### Human Proteome and Epigenetics
Human proteome: a nearly complete map of the entire set of proteins encoded by our genes
Only about 1% of human DNA constitutes protein-encoding genes, while the remaining 99% is considered "junk DNA"
Many genes have been linked to each disease, but together, they often account for only a small portion of its heritability
18 different gene variants have been linked to adult-onset diabetes, but these variants account for only 6% of the heritability of the disease

Growth of Epigenetics

Epigenetics focuses on mechanisms that influence the expression of genes without changing the genes themselves
4 factors that led to the rise of epigenetics:
- Human Genome Project generated new research techniques
- Discovery that protein coding genes constitute only about 1% of human DNA
- Most RNA molecules are small, with only 1.2% being of the large protein-encoding variety
- Mechanisms of gene-experience interactions unknown
5 important discoveries in epigenetics:
- Nongene DNA is not "junk DNA", but rather active DNA that controls structural gene expression
- Epigenetic mechanisms can modulate gene expression, including DNA methylation and histone remodeling
- Worldwide effort to catalogue the epigenome of each cell type
- Epigenetic modifications of messenger RNA and transfer RNA are prevalent
- Epigenetic mechanisms can be induced by experiences, such as neural activity, hormonal state, and changes to the environment

Epigenetics of Behavioral Development

Behavioral development is a consequence of genetic potential interacting with the experience of an individual organism
Ontogeny refers to the development of an individual through their lifespan
Phylogeny refers to the evolutionary development of a species through the ages

Selective Breeding of Maze-Bright and Maze-Dull Rats

Cooper and Zubek's (1958) study on maze-bright and maze-dull rats
- Reared maze-bright and maze-dull rats in one of two environments: impoverished or enriched
- Maze-dull rats made more errors than maze-bright rats only if they had been reared in the impoverished environment
Tryon's (1934) study on selective breeding of behavioral traits
- Bred fittest maze-bright rats together and dullest maze-dull rats together for 21 generations
- By 8th generation, there was almost no overlap in the maze learning performance of the two groups of rats
- Used cross-fostering control procedure to demonstrate that genetic factors contribute to behavioral traits

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

PKU is a single-gene metabolic disorder that affects brain development
Symptoms of PKU include intellectual disability, vomiting, seizures, hyperactivity, irritability, and brain damage
PKU is transmitted by a single gene mutation and develops only in homozygous individuals
PKU homozygotes lack phenylalanine hydroxylase, leading to an accumulation of phenylalanine in the body and low levels of dopamine
Behavioral symptoms result from an interaction between genetic and environmental factors
A phenylalanine-restricted diet can reduce the development of intellectual disabilities in PKU homozygotes
Sensitive period: a period during which a particular experience must occur to have a major effect on the development of a trait

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Description

This quiz assesses your understanding of psychosurgery, its effects on patients, and the importance of detailed assessment before performing the surgery. It covers the criteria used to judge patient improvement.