Chapter 4

Key Terms

Evolutionary psychology: an approach within psychology based on Darwin’s theory of evolution and assuming that evolutionary forces have shaped our minds and behaviour.

Adaptations: inherited mechanisms that evolved to solve problems encountered in our ancestral past.

Monozygotic twins: twins that are formed from the same fertilised ovum or egg that splits and leads to the development of two individuals sharing 100% of their genes.

Dizygotic twins: twins derived from the fertilisation of two ova or eggs by two spermatozoa at approximately the same time; they share 50% of their genes.

Central nervous system: the brain and spinal cord; it is protected by bone and cerebrospinal fluid.

Peripheral nervous system: it consists of all the nerve cells in the body not located within the central nervous system; it is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

Somatic nervous system: the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the voluntary movements of skeletal muscles and hence the limbs.

Autonomic nervous system: the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the involuntary movement of non-skeletal muscles; it is divided into the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Sympathetic nervous system: the part of the autonomic nervous system that produces arousal and energy (e.g., via increased heart rate).

Parasympathetic nervous system: the part of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in reducing arousal and conserving energy (e.g., by reducing heart rate).

Cerebrum: a part of the forebrain crucially involved in thinking and language.

Limbic system: a brain system consisting of the amygdala, the hippocampus, and septal areas, all of which are involved in emotional processing.

Thalamus: a part of the forebrain involved in wakefulness and sleep.

Hypothalamus: a part of the forebrain that is involved in controlling body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behaviour.

Midbrain: the middle part of the brain; it is involved in vision, hearing, and the control of movement.

Hindbrain: the “reptilian brain”, concerned with breathing, digestion, swallowing, the fine control of balance, and the control of consciousness.

Cerebral cortex: the outer layer of the cerebrum; it is involved in perception, thinking, and language.

Dysexecutive syndrome: a condition caused by brain damage (typically in the frontal lobes) in which there is severe impairment of complex cognitive functions (e.g., planning; decision making).

Somatosensation: several perceptual processes based on information received from the skin and body.

Hemispheric lateralisation: the notion that each hemisphere or half of the brain differs in its functioning to some extent even though both hemispheres coordinate their activities most of the time.

Split-brain patients: individuals in whom nearly all connections between the two halves of the brain have been severed.

Weblinks

The Charles Darwin & Evolution website
http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/

How far can Darwin take us?: Steven Pinker in conversation with Adam Gopnik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv16luDN9t8

A simple explanation of Mendelian genetics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWqgZUnJdAY

Video about twins separated at birth and reunited 35 years later
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0

Link to Bouchard et al’s Minnesota study of twins reared a part
http://web.missouri.edu/~segerti/1000H/Bouchard.pdf

Mapping the brain video from National Geographic
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/mapping-brain-lecture-nglive

A nervous system interactive game
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/3djigsaw_02/index.shtml?nervous
BrainInfo: A portal to neuroanatomical information on the web
http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/aboutBrainInfo.aspx

An interactive, 3-D model of the brain
http://www.g2conline.org/?gclid=CMXpzfLAlLMCFSTKtAodDVcAwA#Autism

Roger Sperry was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on split-brain patients. This website describes his experiments
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/split-brain/background.html

A demonstration of what to expect when you go for an MRI scan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FallWN1uYco&feature=fvwrel

ERP set up demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSoPsRPGjs4