Genetic Abnormalities
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Genetic Abnormalities Jessica Frias and Isaac Tourgeman Albizu University – Miami Campus, Miami, FL, USA
of behavior to be incorporated into the realm of human biology. To understand the evolution of psychology, as it relates to genetic abnormalities, we will discuss the history of genetics, the basics of genetics and genetic abnormalities, and the involvement of psychology and its benefits for those with genetic abnormalities.
Synonyms Familial disease; Gene disease; Genetic disorder; Genetic mutation; Inherited disease
Definition A missing, extra, or irregular component of the genome that can be inherited, can occur spontaneously, or can be caused by the environment.
Introduction Genetics, just as every other aspect of science, has seen significant advances in recent years. The understanding we have obtained from these genetic advances has enabled genetic mapping and the early discovery of genetic abnormalities. With this new understanding comes a plethora of questions. These advances have also yielded a necessity for the psychological and social aspects
The History of Genetics The genetics that is discussed, observed, manipulated, and studied today has its origins in the teachings of Aristotle and his ideologies regarding the creation of life. His teachings explained that we are each a mixture of our parents’ traits with the father supplying the life force and the mother supplying the building blocks (Schwartz and Sharpe 2006). For many centuries his theory remained unquestioned, until the research and memoir of Gregor Mendel in 1866. While his research was published, it did not make an imprint on genetics or heredity until its rediscovery in the 1900s. Several researchers, such as De Vires, Bateson, Johannsen, Morgan, Watson, and Crick, helped rocket Mendel’s laws to the forefront of biology. It was Mendel’s laws that taught the world about heredity and how inheritance follows particular patterns; his work with pea plants led to the understanding of traits and
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 T. K. Shackelford, V. A. Weekes-Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_768-1
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genetics that we have today (Gayon 2016; Durmaz et al. 2015).
Genetics To fully understand genetic abnormalities, we must first understand the basics of genetics. Genetics is the term used to describe the study of genes and heredity among organisms. Genes are the microscopic nucleotides of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that make up the 23 chromosomes. A zygote inherits a gamete cell from each parent; these gametes each contain only one set of chromosomes which is combined to make 23 pairs. On each pair of chromosomes exists two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent. Genes are the determinants of traits; there are three different types of traits, polygenic, pleiotropic, and Mendelian. Polygenic traits are traits that involve many genes; pleiotropic traits are multiple traits that are affected by one gene; and Mendelian traits are traits that are sol
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