Chapter 4

Suppose you have high sensitivity to the taste of PTC. If your mother has low sensitivity, what (if anything) can you predict about your father's taste sensitivity?

How does a sex-linked gene differ from a sex-limited gene?

Suppose someone identifies a "gene for" certain aspects of sexual development. In what ways might that statement be misleading?

How does an epigenetic change differ from a mutation?

What are the main types of evidence to estimate the heritability of some behavior?

Suppose someone determines the heritability of IQ scores for a given population. Then society changes in a way that provides the best possible opportunity for everyone within that population. Will heritability of IQ increase, decrease, or stay the same?

What example illustrates the point that even if some characteristic is highly heritable, a change in the environment can alter it?

What are plausible ways for possible altruistic genes to spread in a population?

New receptor neurons form in adult rodents for which sensory system?

If axons from the retina were prevented from showing spontaneous activity during early development, what would be the probable effect on development of the thalamus?

At what age does a person have the greatest number of neurons\(-\) early in life, during adolescence, or during adulthood?

Anesthetic drugs and anxiety-reducing drugs increase activity of GABA, decreasing brain excitation. Why would we predict that exposure to these drugs might be dangerous to the brain of a fetus?

Which brain area shows expanded representation of the left hand in people who began practicing stringed instruments in childhood and continued for many years?

When people claim that adolescents make risky decisions because of a lack of inhibition, which brain area do they point to as being responsible for inhibition?

What is one way in which older adults compensate for less efficient brain functioning?

What are the two kinds of stroke, and what causes each kind?

If one of your relatives has a stroke and a well-meaning person offers a blanket, what should you do?

Is collateral sprouting a change in axons or dendritic receptors?

What is responsible for the phantom limb experience?

A monkey that loses sensation from one arm stops using it, but a monkey that loses sensation from both arms does use them. Why?