1. Occipital Lobe Functions
Visual Cortex
Disorders
Blindsight
Alexia

2. Gender Differences

3. FIGURE 3.43 Male versus Female Brains
A considerable body of evidence indicates that female brains are more bilaterally organized for language. For example, researchers studied men and women listening to someone reading aloud. As these fMRI images show, (a) the men listened with one side of their brains, whereas (b) the women tended to listen with both sides.

4. Complex Problem-solving:
Size:
Males tend to have larger brains
Language:
Females show bilateral organization for language
Males show unilateral ( left side)
Complex Problem-solving:
females use language-related brain regions
males use spatial-related brain regions (Haier et al., 2005)

5. Neuroplasticity

6. How Does the Brain Change?
Plasticity: a property of the brain that allows it to change as a result of experience, drugs, or injury
Neurogenesis: New neurons are produced in some brain regions (e.g., the hippocampus)

7. Why are children often like parents?

8. Taxi Drivers

9. Brain Changes with Use London Taxi Drivers: Larger hippocampi
Only found in part associated with spatial memory
Not found in London bus drivers

10. Cortical Remapping with Non-Use
Phantom limb:
Reflects cortical remapping in Somatosensory cortex

11. Recovery after Major Damage
Jodie
Cameron

12. Radical Hemispherectomy
surgical removal of an entire cerebral hemisphere
remaining hemisphere takes on functions of missing one
Depends on age of surgery
Jodie Miler: lost right hemisphere in In 2008, graduated high school entered college.

13. Like father, like daughter: Elizabeth Harman joins father Gil on the philosophy faculty

14. Like father, like sons

15. John & Ravi Coltrane
John & Ravi Coltrane

16. Nature vs Nurture Debate
Parents also pass on genes to children
What is the relative importance of genes vs. upbringing in behavior?

17. Behavioral Genetics
Method that allows us to separate genetic vs. environmental influences on a particular behavioral trait
People are born like “undeveloped photographs”: The image has been captured, but the way it eventually appears depends on the development process

18. Switched at birth, Reunited as Adults

19. Genotype and Phenotype
Genotype: an organism’s genetic makeup; never changes
Phenotype: an organism’s observable physical characteristics or behavioral traits; always changing
Genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) both influence phenotype

20. Behavioral Trait
Stable property of a person that can be measured by standard psychological tests IQ
Aggression
Graduation Rate
Criminal Convictions
Happiness
Extroversion

21. Turkheimer’s 3 Laws of Behavior Genetics
First Law. All human behavioral traits are heritable.
Second Law. Similarities are influenced more by genes than family upbringing
Third Law. Differences are due to non-shared environment outside home

22. First Law
All human behavioral traits are heritable.

23. FIGURE 3.35b Twins
(b) Identical twins result when one fertilized egg splits in two. Identical twins Gerald Levey and Mark Newman, participants in Dr. Bouchard’s study, were separated at birth. Reunited at age 31, they discovered they were both firefighters and had similar personality traits.
What other factors might account for the similarities between twins raised apart?

24. FIGURE 3.35a Twins
(a) Fraternal twins, such as this pair pictured during their 13th birthday party, result when two separate eggs are fertilized at the same time.

25. Basic Twin Studies Design
Compare similarities between MZ (identical) and DZ (fraternal) twins
Same environment; different genetics
Greater similarity of MZ twins is likely due to genetic influence

26. MZ twins more alike

27. MZ more alike than DZ Twins in all Traits

28. Second Law
Similarities are influenced more by genes than family upbringing (nature)

29. MZ Twins Raised Apart
Does being raised in different environments , by different parents make them more different than MZ twins raised together?

30. “Jim” Twins

31. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer
grew up in different families in different states
Both had childhood dogs named Toy.
Both had been nail biters and fretful sleepers. Both had migraines.
Both had married first wives names Linda, second wives named Betty; Lewis named his first son James Allen, Springer named his James Alan.
For years, they both had taken holidays on the same Florida beach.
They both drank Miller Lite, smoked Salem cigarettes, loved stock car racing, disliked baseball, left regular love notes to their wives, made doll furniture in their basements, and had added circular white benches around the trees in their backyards.
Their IQs, habits, facial expressions, brain waves, heartbeats, and handwriting were nearly identical.
The Jim twins lived apart but died on the same day, from the same illness."

32. Effect of Genes Larger than Family

33. Switched at birth, Reunited as Adults

34. The four young men in Bogotá had each been raised as a fraternal twin, an identity in and of itself. Now, they realized, they were each an identical twin, part of a matched pair. Even before the four brothers met, each was already, unknowingly, aligning himself with the sibling with whom he shared a womb. Carlos and Wilber were cautious, convinced that no one should pursue the matter any further — who knew what trouble these people could bring. William and Jorge, however, were open to the possibility of an encounter.

35. All four started comparing notes, quizzing one another, finding out which essential qualities the identical twins shared. Who were the crybabies of the family? Carlos and Wilber! Who had sweet temperaments? Jorge and William! Who were more organized? Carlos and Wilber! Who were the girl-­ chasers? Carlos and Wilber! Who were the strongest? Jorge and William!

36. Adoption Studies Robert Plomin: Colorado Adoption Project
Plomin followed 245 pregnant women who planned to give up children for adoption.
Control group of 245 parents and biological children

37. Results children resemble biological, but not adopted parents
Adopted children no more similar to adopted parents than to any two adults taken at random off the street.

38. Low Parent-Adoptive Child Correlations

39. Third Law
Differences are due to non-shared environment outside home ( nurture)

40. Peers

41. Unique Life Experiences

42. while Jorge was seeing sameness with every glance he stole at William, Carlos was seeking differences between him and his country double. ‘‘Look at our hands,’’ Carlos said. ‘‘They’re not the same.’’ Wilber’s were bigger, more swollen, marked with scars from countless quarrels with the knives of the butcher shop and the machetes he used in the fields growing up. Carlos, by contrast, frequently got manicures; his nails, as is not uncommon among male professionals in Colombia, were covered in clear gloss.

44. Summary Genes make siblings similar
Non-shared environment makes siblings different:
Birth order
Peers
Unique experiences- accidents, illness

46. Gene/Environment Interactions
Caspi, et al ( 2002)

47. Caspi Study: Gene/Environment Interaction
Methods: Collected info about more than 1,000 New Zealanders from birth until adulthood
Measured:
Mistreatment by parents
Type of MAO gene
Criminal record at age 26

48. Results

49. Gene- Environment Interaction
MAO Gene: predisposition to anti-social behavior as adult
Early Life Mistreatment: predisposition to anti- social behavior as adult
Both together: development of anti-social behavior

50. Neurons
Neurons send, receive and process electrical and chemical signals

51. Neurons Are Specialized for Communication
Four basic phases:
Reception: Chemical signals are received from neighboring neurons (Dendrites)
Integration: Incoming signals are assessed (Cell Body)
Transmission: Electrical signals conducted to end of neuron (Axon)
Output: Chemical message sent to other neurons (Terminal Button)