Chapter 1

whether the mind and body are composed of the same substance 

dualism: the body is materiel but the mind is nonphysical (believe the mind influences behavior through the brain)

monism: mind and body are composed of the same substance (neuroscientists believe in physical monism)

theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience

showed electrical stimulation moved muscles in a frogs leg even after it had been removed from the frogs body

produced movement by electrically stimulating a dogs brain

measured the speed of neural conduction 

specific areas of the brain carry out specific functions 

-gage: rod through head from railroad accident, became irresponsible, impulsive and scially impaired 

-broca: performed autopsy on man who had lost ability to speak after stroke, damage to ONLY area on left side of brain

the idea that the brain functions as an undifferentiated whole, extent of damage determines how much function is lost

• -NOT localized damage
• -rats and maze learning

located 35 different faculties of emotion and intellect

-strength assessed from bumps on skull

behavior is a product of both genetic coding and environment 

-number of behaviors are genetically influenced

-everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience

dominant: will produce its effect regardless of which gene it is paired with

recessive: will have an effect when paired with the same recessive gene on the other chromosome (color blindness)

combination of genes

expression of genes (characteristics)

• characteristics determined by several genes
• -most psychological disorders
• -height
• -intelligence

• - production of proteins
• - role of environment comes into play
• - heritability

the influence of genes is only partial

-combination of genes and environmental factors determines whether the individual develops the disorder

• there is a great amount of variability among the members in a given species, traits that are best associated w/ reproduction and survival are more likely to be passed on  
• evidence:
• 1.fossils
• 2.similarities of structures across species
• 3. selective breeding plants/animals

an organisms ability to pass its genes on to the next generation

• -better chance for winning fights
• -dominant males; copulate
• -dominant females; forage for food and produce

• -mutual responsiveness/restrictiveness for matting
• -small groups break off
• -cross-group population dwindles (separate species start to exist)

first creatures with dorsal spine

land and water

first to lay shell covered eggs

• -mammary gland for nurturing young 
• -spending maturation in the whom -> increased survival rate

closing relative to human, 99% shared genes

• -walking uprught
• -brain size
• -opposable thumbs
• -unique properties (painting, agri, writing)

• structure with a non-adaptive function
• -male nipple
• -belly button

• structure that once served a purpose but no longer does
• -appendix

• the percentage of the variation in a characteristic that can be attributed to genetic factors 
• -identical twins (100% genes)
• -fraternal twins (50% genes)