Transcript 8-Slides
Nature vs. Nurture-8 What makes us human? Nurturist position: Beyond Human Nature by Jesse J. Prinz -- Norton Gene Expression Gene regulation Diet Brain -reflexes – unconscious personality -- conscious Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder microbiome behavior 1 Diet ~1800 Scurvy – vitamin C deficiency 1990 Rats were injected with insulin in the last trimester -- the males developed obesity Features of the mother’s diet – cause/correlated -- long term effects. New model – the pre-development fetus is “plastic” Mother and the environment “tweak” the organism To adapt to the expected (current) situation If environment changes, there can be a “mis-match” Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 2 Epi-genetic? In UK sheep were put on a low methyl diet for 8 weeks before conception and for 1 week after. All offspring (deficient and controlled) had identical diets for 96% time in utero. All had normal birth weight. Adult sheep conceived to deficient mothers: - Hypertensive - Resistant to insulin - Fatter Liver cells showed reduced methylation B-complex vitamins – folic acid –others provide the methyl groups. Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 3 SES (socioeconomic status) Loneliness Poverty Oppression Abuse Experiences with long term effects on physical body and personality 2012 study Poverty (0-5 years of age) 35 years later epigenetics (expression of >100 white blood genes) Methylation (GR receptors) Long term epigenetic state No genetic determinism Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 4 Memory and Consciousness What is it? brain function = thought Sensory information Memory inputs Where is it? Distributed – heart, head … Head -- Brain Development ~60% at birth? How in the brain? As usual Fall 2016 (self consciousness) ESP? Chemistry? ? Genetics Epi-genetics ? NO (intentional) intrusive experiments on humans D.D. Reeder 5 Brain Cerebrum: associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. 4 "lobes": frontal lobe parietal lobe occipital lobe temporal lobe Cerebellum: "little brain” Brainstem: motor and sensory “Limbic System”: the "emotional brain" thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus Neocortex -- “gray matter” 6 layers of interconnections – surface down Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 6 Neurons Nucleus contains DNA - as in all cells Input thru dendrites (neurons or sensory cells..) Output thru axon (electrical and chemical) Axon terminals (junctions) (synapses) Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 7 Synapses Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 8 Memory Arguably, the most important component of the human body Short term (minutes or seconds) Long term ( ~ years) Long term memory actually requires reconfiguring the neocortex. • Produce proteins (via genes) reconnect neurons (synapses) based on experiences • Acetylation of histones crucial in memory formation exaptation H.M. • Hippocampus vital for memory • Long term memory stored elsewhere Dynamic regulation of methylation of neurons. Fall 2016 D.D. Reeder 9 Intelligence From "Mainstream Science on Intelligence" (1994), an op-ed statement in the Wall Street Journal signed by fifty-two researchers (out of 131 total invited to sign). A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on," "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do. Can’t quantify, if you can’t define mythology Fall 2016 IQ (racism) Mensa (marketing) Artificial intelligence Brain size 1981 Mismeasure of Man by Stephen J Gould D.D. Reeder 10