Sexuality/gender - Human sexuality is the work of the brain. Within the nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems play a role in stimulating ejaculation in males and allowing blood to flow to sex organs, respectively. The reticular formation, a finger-shape network of neurons that extends from the spinal cord control arousal; The limbic system deals with desires of sex; and the hypothalamus regulates sexual behavior. As for gender, there are obvious differences in the male and female reproductive organs. The way the brain interacts with the two different organs is quite similar. On the other hand, there are some undefined differences in the way the brain is associated differently to gender. One example is that out of all left handed people, most of them are men. There is no explanation for this.


Behavior Genetics - Behavior genetics is the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. In other words, to what point do your genes influence who you are? Is your biological blueprint set in stone? or can outside influences and the environment you live in change who you are and how you act?


Twins (importance of studies) - Studying twins is very important to the study of behavior genetics. Identical twins are a phenomenon because they are two people that have identical genes and come from a single egg. This is important because it shows that genes can not be the only source that affects a person because not all  identical twins have the same personality. Fraternal twins are not similar genetically, but there are some parts that suggest a genetic influence. It is also important to study twins who are reared apart at birth because usually they are very similar even after being separated for a very long time.


Adoption Studies - Adoption studies are also very important to the study of behavior genetics because they ask questions like: are the children more likely to have traits of their adoptive parents or their biological parents? While sharing the same home environment, do adopted siblings come to share traits? Studies of adoptive families have given new insight into behavior genetics. 


Temperament/heritability - Temperament is a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.  Heritability is the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. Heritablity is very misunderstood and can vary from study to study. Both temperament and heritability can definitely be related to genetics. 


Genes and the environment - There is no percentage of gene and percentage of experience that form to create a person. There are many different things that come together and form a person. What can be pointed out is that genes may influence the environment a person lives in. Also, genes can influence the way people act to and influence a person. Instead of nature vs. nurture; think nurture via nature.


Molecular genetics - Molecular genetics is the new frontier of behavior genetics that is on the quest to identify the specific genes that influence behavior. The goal of molecular behavior genetics is to find some of the many genes that contribute to a trait such as obesity, reading ability, or shyness.


Parental Influence/Interference - Another study of Behavior Genetics is Parental influence and interference. The amount of influence and interference that a parent has with/on a child's life and personality has been studied constantly. What has been found is that parents should not be given much credit for their child's abilities. This is evident because two children raised in the same household may be two completely different people. You can blame your parents for your genes, but not for how they raised you.


Megan Johnson, Pd. 7