Here lies a 53-pages long summary of the course Biological Psychology. It covers 13 lectures and the corresponding material from the book Psychobiology and research papers.
At the end of each lecture there is a mind map to help understanding the material and I included pictures as well. Have fun...
Evolution:
● Darwin: The Origin of Species
○ backdrop in pro-creationism
● Modern organisms are successful adaptations of previous generations
● Natural selection → beneficial traits becoming more common based on:
○ variation(caused by mutation)
○ heritability(only the favorable are selected)
○ struggle for existence(only the favorable survives)
○ survival and reproductive rates
○ opposite: selective breeding
↪ has a purpose
↪ comparatively quick
● EG.: Bacteria gaining resistance for antibiotics → all of the above applies
● Survival of the fittest → those organisms that fit better into their environment are more
likely to survive
● Environment changes biology and behavior
Evidence for evolution:
● Biogeography → organisms with different features are indigenous to particular
environments
○ eg.: desert fox: large ears; arctic fox: small ears (heat regulation)
● Fossil records chart the time course of evolution
● Comparative structural similarities across species → common ancestor
● Similar in uterostages across species
○ eg.: gills in fish and human embryos
○ Haeckel: ontogeny replicates phylogeny
↪ During development every organism goes through every stage of its
evolutionary past
↪ ontogeny = individual development
↪ phylogeny = development from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ species
● Species share common strands of genetic material
Homo sapiens:
● Is one species
● Y-chromosomal Adam → The most recent common ancestor from which all current people
are descended preliminary
● Mitochondrial Eve → The most recent woman from whom all people are descended
matrilineally through the transmission of mitochondrial DNA
○ Mitochondrial DNA always comes from the mother only
● Out of Africa hypothesis (Eurasia?)
● All humans are 99.9% genetically identical
● Human Genome Project:
○ Identification of the genetic makeup of humans
○ 20.000 genes (these carry information for protein synthesis) → < 2% of DNA
○ In 2003
2
,Genetics
● Each of our 10 trillion cells contain ~ 5 cm of DNA
● Karyotype → organized set of chromosomes
○ Humans: 46 chromosomes, 22 identical autosomes + 1 gonosome
● Genome → the whole genetic information of an organism
● Chromosome → strand of DNA around histones
● Telomere → region at the end of chromosomes, protects DNA during cell division
● Gene → part of a DNA with instructions to make proteins
● Allele → two alternative form of a gene, same place on chromosomes
● Gamete → reproductive cell containing only half of the genetic material needed to form a
human
● Qualitative traits
○ often influenced by a single gene
○ coded by a small number of genes
○ follow a simple pattern of Mendelian
inheritance
○ Often unaffected by environmental factors
○ can be described as a category
● Quantitative traits
○ coded by a larger number of genes
○ measured phenotype, varies widely between
individuals
○ creates a continuous distribution of
phenotypes
● DNA = DezoxiriBonucleinAcid
○ double helix
○ sugar-phosphate backbone + nucleotide bases
○ A=T
↪ A=U in RNA
↪
○ G☰C
○ DNA transcription → mRNA introns
stay in nucleus, exons go to cytoplasm translation →
proteins
○ Large proteins can split posttranslationally
What do proteins do:
● Building blocks of the body
● Become part of the cell membrane → transport channels, receptors
● Part of the cell structure → cytoskeleton, muscle contraction, connecting cells
● Transport oxygen → hemoglobin
● Create new proteins → ribosomes
● Products of the immune system
● Hormones and neurotransmitters
● Fuel for energy and heat production
● Metabolize chemical reactions → enzymes
3
, Genetic variation
● Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)
○ substitution of a single nucleotide baseat a specific position
○ relatively high frequency in the population
○ some have no negative effect
○ some may lead to disease (eg.: sickle cell disease = sarlósejtes vérszegénység; cancer
etc)
● Mutation
○ exchange of allelesduring crossing over → offspring with recombined genes
○ change in a single cell that is rare, random and often independent of the organism’s
needs
● Tandem repeat (/satellite DNA)
○ repeated duplication of a DNA sequence consisting of short, repeated base-pair
sequences
○ TATATATATATATATATATATA
○ length and exact sequence can vary
↪ microsatellite → 10-100 base pairs
↪ mini satellite → 2-4 base pairs
○ may affect the transcription of certain genes
● Deletions and insertions
○ eg.: Williams-Benreu syndrome → delete chromosome nr. 7
● Change in part of a chromosome
○ inversions → segments of chromosome turned by 180°
○ translocation → movement of segment to a nonhomologous chromosome
↪ balanced: equal parts exchanged
↪ unbalanced: unequal parts exchanged → missing/ extra genes
○ duplication → attachment of a broken piece of a homologous chromosome
↪ by unequal crossing over linked to certain leukemias
● Polyploidy → having more than two sets of chromosomes
● Monosomy → only one particular type of chromosome → eg.: Turner’s syndrome (XX)
● Trisomy = Down syndrome, extra chromosome at nr. 23
● Mosaicism → when not all cells in the body are genetically identical
● In case of a polygenetic characteristic disorder, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) describes how
many genes on chromosomes contibute to the quantitative trait
Epigenetics
● The study of heritable phenotype (expressed traits) changesthat do not involve alteration in
the DNA sequence
● = Phenotypical changes in response to the environment
● Can involve stress, nutrition, smoking, radiation
● eg.: under some circumstances, certain genes can be turned off → inactivation of X
chromosome in women
● Phenocopies → environmental factors give rise to disorders that are similar to those of genetic
origin
4
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