10 Course summary
The course began by considering what factors contribute to individual differences. The case was made, with the spiders, and later with genetic diseases, that the genome was very important. Subsequent sections revealed that the external environment (e.g. maternal care, the presence of light) and the internal environment (e.g. hormones and drugs) were very important and that they can both shape and determine the development of the organism. Environmental factors, in the form of hormones and drugs, can play a key role in determining which genes are transcribed. Genes, for their part limit the possibilities. And the proteins that are produced, can influence the organism by influencing cellular processes such as cell migration, axon growth and guidance, synaptogenesis and cell survival.