Download AP Psych spt 2 sq

Chapter 2 (new text)
Study Questions
1. Describe the difference between genotype and phenotype.
2. How does genetic transmission occur from parents to offspring?
3. Compare dominant, recessive, and polygenic influences on phenotypic characteristics.
4. Describe the primary contributions of the Human Genome Project.
5. What is concordance?
6. How are adoption and twin studies used to estimate the genetic contribution of a
behavioral characteristic? What have such studies shown?
7. Why are studies of twins raised together and apart especially informative? What findings
have resulted from such studies?
8. Explain how the presence of a heritability coefficient can assist in research on behavioral
genetics.
9. Describe the methods used in recombinant DNA research.
10. What is the knockout procedure and how do psychologist use it to study behavior?
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11. Which structural characteristics permit the many possible interconnections among
neurons?
12. How do glial cells differ from neurons? What functions do they have in the nervous
system?
13. What chemical changes cause the process of depolarization that creates graded and action
potentials? How do graded and action potentials differ from one another?
14. What is the nature and importance of the myelin sheath? Which disorder results from
inadequate myelinization?
15. Describe two methods by which neurotransmitter molecules are deactivated at the
synapse.
16. Describe the roles of acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins in
psychological functions.
17. Describe the difference between drugs that are agonist and antagonists.
18. What are the three major types of neurons in the nervous system? What are their
functions?
19. Differentiate between the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
What are the two divisions of the peripheral nervous systems?
20. Describe the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system, as well as their roles in
maintaining homeostasis.
21. Describe four methods used to study brain-behavior relations.
22. How are CAT scans, PET scans, MRI’s and functional MRI’s conducted, and how is
each used in brain research?
23. Which behavioral functions are controlled by the hindbrain structures, namely, the
medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum? What occurs with damage to these structures?
24. Describe the roles played by the ascending and descending reticular formation. Why is it
called the “brain’s gatekeeper?”
25. What are the four lobes of the brain, and where are they located?
26. Differentiate between sensory, motor, and associated cortex.
27. How are the somatic, sensory and motor cortexes organized?
28. Describe the role of the frontal cortex in higher mental (including “executive”) functions.
29. What roles have the corpus callosum and the optic chiasma planed in “split brain”
research? Is it reasonable to speak of separate right and left brains in normally
functioning people?
30. What is hemispheric lateralization and what do we know about the functions that are
concentrated in the left and right hemispheres?
31. What is neural plasticity? How do age, environment, and behavior affect plasticity?
32. Why do children typically show better recovery of function after brain injury than do
adults?
33. How does the endocrine system differ from the nervous system as a communications
network? What is the role of the thalamus in sensory input, and possibly, in thought and
perceptual disorders?
34. What role does the hypothalamus have in motivating behavior, hunger, pleasure-pain, and
hormonal functions?
35. What is the possible relationship between the hypothalamus and the limbic system in
relations to emotion and motivation? What roles do the hippocampus and amygdala play
in psychological functions?
36. What are some ways in which the nervous and endocrine systems affect and interact with
one another?