Placingadoptees into homes where the adoptive parents are similar to the biologicalparents on some phenotype such as IQ.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Selective (or elective) mutism
A rare childhood-onset disorder dominated by refusal to speak in certain social settings (e.g., in school, with peers), in spite of being able to speak in other situations. Often co-morbid with other neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism . See Autism
Select
To choose, also used in developmental studies to emphasise competition among behaviour and brain operations.
Selectins
A small family of integral membrane proteins (viz., cell adhesion molecules) that bind to particular oligosaccharides projecting from the surface of other cells. They are important for white blood cell (leucocyte) binding to blood vessel walls and for migration to sites of infection or inflammation. Three such molecules have been identified: P-selectin (CD62P), E-selectin (CD62E) and …
Segmentation
A consistent feature of developing invertebrate and vertebrate embryos, composed of a number of repeating units with some common structure, with potential variation in each segment. Both the insect and vertebrate body are initially segmented, as is the spinal cord . See Hox genes, Segment polarity
Segment polarity
The anterior-posterior polarity of each segment of an animal. As found for the Drosophila fly, there are segment polarity genes, mutations of which cause a disruption in pattern formation in each segment . See Hox genes, Segmentation
Secondary visual cortex (V2)
The area of visual cortex that immediately adjoins primary visual cortex (V1) and gets direct input from it. It is responsive to color information and the direction of motion. See Cerebral cortex (or pallium), Ocular dominance columns, Primary visual cortex (V1), Ventral visual pathway (or stream), Visual cortex
Secondary sexual characteristics
See Estrogen, Hormones, Menarche, Puberty, Testosterone
Search errors in infancy
Prior to 8 months, infants do not search for an object when someone hides it from them. After 8 months, they begin to search and do so accurately provided the object is hidden in the same place each time. If the object is hidden in a new location, infants of less than 12 months perseverate …
Second law of thermodynamics
Deals with the direction in which any chemical or physical process involving energy takes place. Both temperature and entropy determine the direction in which such an irreversible process can go. For a closed system, it states that the entropy increases over time. Consequently, according to this law, there can never be such a thing as …