Heredity
This term refers to the biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring.
What is heredity?
This term refers to all external influences on behavior and development, from prenatal nutrition to culture.
What is environment?
This system is the body’s communication network, sending messages between the brain, spinal cord, and body.
What is the nervous system?
The basic functional unit of the nervous system, responsible for transmitting electrical signals.
What is a neuron?
This neurotransmitter is associated with mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.
What is serotonin?
The basic unit of heredity, made of DNA, that determines specific traits.
What is a gene?
Children adopt cultural norms and behaviors primarily through this type of learning in social settings.
What is observational learning (or modeling)?
The central nervous system consists of these two major parts.
What are the brain and spinal cord?
This part of the neuron receives signals from other neurons.
What is the dendrite?
This neurotransmitter enables muscle action, learning, and memory, and its deficit is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
What is acetylcholine (ACh)?
These twin types are genetically identical, making them ideal for studying heredity vs. environment.
What are identical (monozygotic) twins?
This type of experiment manipulates environmental factors to observe effects on development, often used with animals.
What is a controlled experiment?
This division of the peripheral nervous system controls voluntary movements.
What is the somatic nervous system?
The long fiber that carries messages away from the cell body is called this.
What is the axon?
Known as the brain’s natural painkillers, these neurotransmitters also produce feelings of euphoria.
What are endorphins?
The statistical measure that indicates the proportion of variation in a trait due to genetics.
What is heritability?
Language development is influenced by environment and is famously illustrated in this “forbidden experiment” with children raised in isolation.
What is the Genie case study?
This branch of the autonomic nervous system prepares the body for “fight or flight.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Axons are often covered in this fatty substance that speeds up neural impulses.
What is the myelin sheath?
This excitatory neurotransmitter is the most abundant in the central nervous system and is critical for memory.
What is glutamate?
This type of study compares twins raised together vs. apart to separate genetic and environmental influences.
What is a twin study?
This concept suggests that certain environmental influences have a stronger impact during specific periods of development.
What is a critical period?
These specialized cells in the brain support neurons by providing nutrients and maintaining the environment.
What are glial cells (or neuroglia)?
The tiny gaps between neurons where neurotransmitters are released are called these.
What are synapses?
This neurotransmitter is associated with alertness, arousal, and the body’s fight-or-flight response.
What is norepinephrine?