Deck 2: Heredity, Environment, and the Brain

Question 1

James Watson and Francis Crick's description of the exact structure of DNA led to the

A) discovery of chromosomes.
B) understanding of sex-linked traits.
C) later discovery of the genetic code.
D) belief that genes are immutable.
E) discovery of chromosomal abnormalities.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Jeremy and Sam are identical twins. However, Sam is slightly taller than Jeremy. Differences such as this

A) occur during the process of meiosis.
B) reflect differences in genotype.
C) reveal differences in genetic code.
D) show differences in phenotype.
E) occur during the process of mitosis.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Lilly and Max are dizygotic twins. A doctor once explained to their parents that Max has a higher chance of inheriting color blindness than Lilly. Why would that be?

A) Color blindness is dominant and dominant genes affect males more than females.
B) Color blindness is a sex-linked trait associated with the X chromosome.
C) Color blindness only affects males as it is associated with a dominant gene on the Y chromosome.
D) Color blindness is only passed on to males through their mother.
E) Color blindness is only passed on to males through their father.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Imani grew up in a region of Africa where malaria is prevalent. Many in her community that have lived there for generations seem to have increased resistance to the disease compared to families who have recently moved to the area. However, others moved away from Africa to areas without malaria where the gene was not needed to protect against the disease. This instance is an example of a

A) negative mutation.
B) neutral mutation.
C) positive mutation.
D) fixed-region mutation.
E) mixed mutation.

Question 5

Klinefelter syndrome and Turner syndrome provide evidence that

A) mixed mutations are not always positive.
B) random negative mutations can occur.
C) mutations are always linked to sex-linked chromosomes.
D) mutations are typically passed on by the mother.
E) environment has little effect on most genes.

Question 6

Scientists' relatively recent ability to locate a gene thought to be involved in an inherited disease can be attributed to

A) the study of genetic mutations.
B) adoption studies.
C) twin studies.
D) the Human Genome Project.
E) the gene therapy project.

Question 7

By the end of the first year, infants have a distinct _______, which continues to develop until around 3 years of age.

A) phenotype
B) genotype
C) microbiome
D) gamete
E) chromosomal link

Question 8

Which provides the best example of canalization?

A) Twins who reach different heights in adulthood
B) A boy born with blue eyes who now has brown eyes in adulthood
C) A son who grows to be nearly 5 inches taller than either parent
D) A daughter who reaches the same height as her biological mother
E) A girl with hazel eyes who still has hazel eyes in adulthood

Question 9

A person's _______ has a higher degree of phenotypic plasticity than their _______.

A) eye color; height
B) skin color; weight
C) height; weight
D) diet; weight
E) weight; eye color

Question 10

Darius and Xavier are identical twins. At age 20, Darius was diagnosed with cancer but recovered with treatment. The two men are now 50 years old and Xavier has never been diagnosed with cancer. What concept might explain this difference?

A) Gene therapy
B) Genetic transmission
C) Epigenetics
D) Evocative expression
E) Passive expression

Question 11

Talia is a very active preschooler who loves sports and active play. Her parents recognize her need to be active and choose to enroll her in a few programs at their local YMCA. The parent's reaction to Talia's activity level is an example of

A) evocative effects.
B) proactive limitations.
C) epigenetics.
D) gene-environment matching.
E) systematic effects.

Question 12

In comparing both animal studies and twin studies, researchers feel confident in the finding that

A) animals and humans have similar gene-environment interactions on a few traits.
B) humans experience a stronger gene-environment interaction than animals.
C) animals' genetic contribution is higher for nearly every trait in comparison with humans.
D) the same principles of gene-environment interactions observed in animals apply to humans.
E) animals' genetic contribution is lower for nearly every trait in comparison with humans.

Question 13

Champagne and Meaney's study of rat licking provided evidence that

A) caregiving is genetically hard-wired into all species.
B) animals and humans have differences in genetic transmission.
C) early experience may alter gene expression.
D) genes alter our environment.
E) only the strongest genetic traits persist.

Question 14

A(n) _______ has been used to describe the unique components and interactive influence genetic and environmental aspects have on human development.

A) ladder metaphor
B) library metaphor
C) computer metaphor
D) animalistic analogy
E) evolutionary analogy

Question 15

Six-year-old Maya was involved in a car accident. The doctors mentioned that Maya has some swelling of her occipital lobe. Which of these might be affected with an injury to this part of the brain?

A) Vision
B) Attention
C) Smell and taste
D) Motor control
E) Memory

Question 16

The cerebral cortex is

A) responsible for regulating heart rate and breathing.
B) the smallest and lightest portion of the brain.
C) nearly fully developed shortly after birth.
D) responsible for higher functions such as language and memory.
E) a dense tract of nerve fibers.

Question 17

A child is confronted by an unfamiliar barking dog. The child's heart starts to race as he runs away. Which part of the brain helps prepare for this response to a fearful situation?

A) Temporal lobe
B) Forebrain
C) Thalamus
D) Amygdala
E) Right hemisphere

Question 18

The part of the brain responsible for higher-order skills and that distinguishes humans from other animals is the

A) hindbrain.
B) midbrain.
C) brain stem.
D) medulla.
E) cerebral cortex.

Question 19

Which is an accurate description of the hindbrain?

A) It is responsible for complex thinking and planning.
B) It is responsible for regulating many basic life functions such as heart rate and digestion.
C) It is only found in humans, not animals.
D) It is responsible for communication between hemispheres.
E) It is the last portion of the brain to fully develop.

Question 20

Electrical impulses travel from the cell body to _______ where neurotransmitters are released to send signals to other neurons.

A) dendrites
B) cell wall
C) neurons
D) axon terminals
E) glial cells

Question 21

The part of a neuron responsible for receiving neural transmissions is the

A) cell body.
B) axon.
C) glial cell.
D) dendrite.
E) myelin.

Question 22

What surrounds and protects neurons, and influences communication among neurons by helping in the formation and strengthening of synapses?

A) Cell bodies
B) Suppressed neurons
C) Myelin
D) Glial cells
E) Dendrites

Question 23

A researcher wishes to study the electrical brain activity of infants as they process stimuli. They are likely to use which technology to record the electrical activity in the surface of infants' brains?

A) fMRI
B) EEG
C) EKG
D) PET
E) MRI

Question 24

Research shows that a large number of neural connections are formed during the first few months and years of life. This process is known as

A) migration.
B) myelination.
C) synaptogenesis.
D) neurogenesis.
E) pruning.

Question 25

The death of superfluous neuronal connections is referred to as

A) neurogenesis.
B) synaptogenesis.
C) pruning.
D) myelination
E) migration.

Question 26

A main benefit due to the process of myelination is the

A) development of synaptic connections.
B) pruning of unnecessary and unused neural connections.
C) improvement in the conductivity of the nerve impulses.
D) growth of the neural tube.
E) increase in the number of dendrites.

Question 27

Synaptogenesis begins prenatally and is especially rapid

A) after three years of age.
B) after the first year.
C) before adolescence.
D) before and after birth.
E) before a child's third birthday.

Question 28

Bridget and Theo are parents of an infant. A friend encourages them to buy a learning system for their infant, citing the "use it or lose it" concept of maintaining existing neural connections. Is this the best advice?

A) Yes, infants have billions of neurons and now is the time to maintain them.
B) Yes, infants crave stimulation, and this is the critical period for brain growth.
C) No, pruning away excess neurons will improve the child's neural communication.
D) No, synaptogenesis must be allowed to occur naturally without a structured environment.
E) Yes, early brain growth leads to better synaptic connections later in childhood.

Question 29

The brain's volume gradually increases over childhood through the process of

A) germination.
B) maturation.
C) synaptogenesis.
D) migration.
E) regeneration.

Question 30

Which best describes brain development from birth through adolescence?

A) Synapses are pruned in early childhood as a response to the environment but grow back in adolescence as the child matures.
B) Synapses that are unused are pruned while myelination of the axon increases the efficiency of communication between childhood and adolescence.
C) Dendrite and axon communication becomes less efficient as the child moves into adolescence.
D) Axons and dendrites expand in the number of connections they make during the adolescent years.
E) Axons and dendrites become thinner and more sparse throughout childhood and adolescence.

Question 31

Hubel and Wiesel's experiments with kittens helped to better understand

A) synaptogenesis.
B) experience-expectant plasticity.
C) experience-dependent plasticity.
D) neurogenesis.
E) synaptic pruning

Question 32

Jess was born with cataracts in both eyes. Considering brain-expectant plasticity, which is the best course of action?

A) Take no action until Jess is at least 5 years of age. The brain is highly adaptive and no significant impact to the brain will occur.
B) Take action at 2 to 3 years of age, after monitoring the effect of the cataracts on vision over time, but before preschool begins.
C) Take no action, as the brain will adapt to the cataracts and can disrupt the specialized fine-tuning of neural connections.
D) Remove the cataracts after age 3 years and provide specialized brain exercises to improve functioning.
E) Remove the cataracts during infancy, as removing them after infancy increases the chance of visual impairments.

Question 33

Which is proof that regions of the brain specialized for experience-expectant plasticity are not necessarily locked into their "expected" paths of development?

A) A deaf child's auditory processing areas become specialized for visual processing.
B) An older child's hindbrain takes over many of the tasks once attributed to the cerebral cortex.
C) Specialized brain stimulation programs mimic auditory stimuli, prompting growth of auditory processing areas.
D) A deaf child's cerebral cortex increases in gray matter, compensating for lack of auditory stimuli.
E) A young child's cerebral cortex decreases in white matter, compensating for lack of auditory stimuli.

Question 34

Research in brain growth and functioning has led to greater understanding of why some children are _______, while others suffer great harm under adverse environmental conditions.

A) expectant
B) resilient
C) neuro-typical
D) experience-expectant
E) sensitive

Question 35

Which is a likely example of experience-dependent brain plasticity?

A) A school-age child's pre-frontal cortex grows naturally.
B) A child raised in a high-stress environment shows increases in surface area of the brain relative to children without such an experience.
C) A child raised in a highly enriched environment shows increases in surface area of the brain relative to children without such an experience.
D) A child raised in a high SES household shows decreases in specific areas of the brain relative to children in low SES households.
E) A child raised in poverty shows resilience despite the impoverished environment.

Question 36

Much of what is known about experience-dependent plasticity is a result of

A) experimental studies with twins.
B) experimental studies with adopted children and families.
C) correlational studies of children in various home environments.
D) brain imaging research in large-scale, controlled-experiments.
E) correlational studies exclusively in rats.

Question 37

Which best describes the concept of sensitive periods in relation to brain development?

A) There are times in development when then the brain expects to develop certain skills.
B) There are times in development when the brain is most susceptible to experiences.
C) The brain is more susceptible to certain experiences than others across development.
D) The brain is hard-wired to learn particular skills.
E) The brain is no longer thought of as being hard-wired for brain growth.

Question 38

Learning a language is substantially easier up until the age of 12. This is evidence of

A) critical periods.
B) sensitive periods.
C) niche-picking.
D) brain lateralization.
E) myelination.

Question 39

_______ appear(s) to adjust in line with human experience and can serve to accelerate or delay the opening of a sensitive period.

A) Critical periods
B) Experience-expectant brain growth
C) Canalization
D) Brain plasticity
E) Neurogenesis

Question 40

In 2013, the U.S. government launched the _______ to encourage scientific discovery of new tools and methods to study the brain.

A) BRAIN initiative
B) Neurological Society of America
C) Brain-Based Project
D) Frontiers of Science Foundation
E) Brain Balance Study

Question 41

Briefly explain why select groups of people are more likely to develop disorders such as Turner Syndrome.

Question 42

Why are genetic mutations not always a negative? Provide an example.

Question 43

Provide one example of how canalization can influence the expression of a person's genotype.

Question 44

Explain why the popular concept of a person being "left-brained" or "right-brained" is not exactly accurate.

Question 45

What makes the forebrain unique?

Question 46

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of using fMRI to form an understanding a child's brain.

Question 47

A researcher wishes to study the brain activity of an infant. Describe one method the researcher might use and what types of information the method offers.

Question 48

What is myelination and how does it impact a child's learning?

Question 49

Describe the relationship between language development and the concept of experience-expectant plasticity.

Question 50

Jenny was adopted into a nurturing middle-class home at three years of age. Prior to this, Jenny lived in a large orphanage in a developing county. What might explain Jenny's difficulty in establishing positive relationships with her parents, even after being in the family for three years?