neuroscience

• What concept did Darwin introduce in 1859?

  Natural selection
• What happens to heritable traits of successful individuals according to Darwin?

  They spread throughout the population
• How did the drought affect finch beak size in the Galapagos Islands?

  Increased beak size in one species
• What does fossil record illustrate about evolution?

  Change systematically through geological layers
• Which part of the human brain has increased in size during evolution?

  Cerebrum
• What aids the processing power of the human brain?

  Increased convolutions in the cerebrum
• What is the human brain's weight as a percentage of total body weight?

  2.3%
• What is the average weight of a newborn's brain?

  350g
• When does the human brain reach its adult size?

  Late adolescence
• How much does the adult human brain weigh?

  Approximately 1400g
• When did humans and chimpanzees diverge from a common ancestor?

  About 5 to 6 million years ago
• What significant role did Australopithecus play in human evolution?

  Genus Homo derived from Australopithecus
• When did Homo erectus leave Africa?

  Around 1.7 million years ago
• When did Homo sapiens evolve in East Africa?

  Around 100,000 years ago
• What is Mendel's theory about inheritance of traits?

  • Traits can have two variations: dominant and recessive
  • Dominant allele: Brown eyes (B)
  • Recessive allele: Blue eyes (b)
• What does genotype refer to?

  Genetic make-up of alleles
• What does phenotype refer to?

  Observable trait from combination of alleles
• What does DNA stand for?

  Deoxyribonucleic acid
• What forms the structure of the DNA molecule?

  Sugar and phosphates form the backbone
• What are the bases of DNA?

  Adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine
• How do DNA bases pair?

  A to T, G to C
• Who deciphered the DNA code?

  Watson and Crick in 1962
• How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have?

  23 pairs of chromosomes
• What determines gender in humans?

  1 pair of sex chromosomes
• What is the smallest chromosome in humans?

  Y chromosome
• Why are sex-linked traits more prevalent in males?

  Males have only one X chromosome
• What is the gene for haemophilia carried on?

  X chromosome
• What is the cause of Down Syndrome?

  Extra 21st chromosome
• What is Phenylketonuria (PKU) caused by?

  Recessive gene mutation on chromosome 12
• What happens if phenylalanine builds up in the blood?

  It results in brain damage
• How is cognitive ability influenced according to Tyron's study?

  By genetics and environment
• What are the types of twins?

  • Fraternal Twins: From two fertilized eggs (Dizygotic)
  • Identical Twins: From one split egg (Monozygotic)
• What did the Minnesota study of twins reveal?

  Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins
• What did Turkheimer et al. (2003) find about heritability of IQ?

  Near 0 in impoverished twins, near 1 in affluent twins
• What are the key points of Mendel's findings?

  • Traits can have dominant or recessive variations
  • Codes for traits are in DNA (genes)
  • Half of DNA is passed to children
• What is the significance of Darwin's theory of natural selection?

  Adaptive traits benefit individuals and are passed on
• What is direct fitness in evolutionary terms?

  Increases ability to survive and reproduce
• What is indirect fitness in evolutionary terms?

  Helps kin survive and reproduce
• What is Hamilton's rule for altruistic behaviour?

  R x b - c > 0
• What is the relatedness between a mother and daughter?

  0.5