Psychology 273 Fall 2009

Assignment 1: Due Wednesday, 9/23: see syllabus for late assignment penalty

4 Digit Number ______

Teratogen Assignment

**Please type all responses****

Purpose: This assignment is designed to begin the process of thinking about development, starting in the womb. This assignment will help you identify the range of substances- including those that are safe, legal, and even beneficial for individuals who are not pregnant- that can present hazards to prenatal development. Completing this assignment will make you aware of the extent to which prospective parents must be vigilant in creating a safe prenatal environment. NOTE: Please type all responses except the group portion.

Procedure: Before completing this assignment, read pg. 91-102 of your text.

As a group, think about the exposures that you have had in the past 5 days to substances that fall into each of the following categories. List the specific substances on the sheet provided with this assignment, the number of group members who were exposed, and information about the extent of the exposure (TURN THIS SHEET IN WITH YOUR ASSIGNMENT). Then answer the following questions on your own time as part of the assignment.

1.  Look into possible teratogenic effects of the substances that you identified in each category. Verify possible effects by checking your textbook, other reference materials that you may find online, or the actual bottles that contained the substance. Remember agents that can damage fetuses may be perfectly safe and appropriate for individuals who are not pregnant. In the following space identify two substances from your group list that you read are definitely teratogens and describe what effect (developmentally) they have on the developing fetus based on information that you’ve read. Also, tell me where you found this information so that I can check it if I need to.

Teratogen 1:

Teratogen 2:

2.  Examine the total impact (on fetus) of exposure to all of the teratogens mentioned by your group. If your collective exposure were experienced by one fetus, how likely do you think it would be that significant damage would result? Why or why not? Be specific! What would the impact be if the fetus was exposed to all of the listed teratogens but only in the amounts that ONE person would typically be exposed to?

3.  Discuss the implications of your findings in relation to the typical college student experience. In essence, knowing what you know about things such as timing between conception and knowledge of pregnancy, why is it important for college students to know information about teratogenic exposure?

Don’t write below here on this page.


Go to: http://www.hon.ch/Dossier/MotherChild/preg_drugs/social.html

And choose one of the social drugs listed there. Then based on what it says there and information from other sources that you found for question 1, write 1-2 pages describing 1) what that drug can do the developing fetus (the effect) and 2) how it does it (the mechanism), being as specific as possible. Lastly, from what you have researched, discuss whether or not there is a dose response, whether or not timing matters, and whether or not the concepts of equifinality and/or multifinality apply to this teratogen.

DO NOT, I stress, DO NOT copy what the webpage says. What I expect you to do is read what it and your other sources say until you completely understand the process, then stop reading and take a break for several hours. Then write your answer in your own words without referring to your sources. Obviously, I have read your textbook and the website. If it appears that you have copied the information from these or another source, you may be asked to come to my office and describe orally how the process works.

****DO NOT choose the same teratogen for this essay as either of the ones that you chose for question 1****

1-2 pages should be more than enough to write the answer to this.


Teratogen Group Sheet

As a group, think about the exposures that you have had in the past 5 days to substances that fall into each of the following categories. List the specific substances on the sheet provided with this assignment, the number of group members who were exposed, and information about the extent of the exposure (TURN THIS SHEET IN WITH YOUR ASSIGNMENT).

Possible group exposure to viruses or bacteria during the past week:

Agent / Length or Amount of Exposure / Is this a “known” or just a “possible” teratogen?

Group use of Prescription and Non-prescription Medications in the past week:

Note: group members DO NOT need to identify confidential information about medications they are taking if they do not want to.

Agent / Length or Amount of Exposure / Known or possible teratogen?

Group exposure to alcohol, nicotine, and other non medication related chemicals in the past week.

Agent / Length or Amount of Exposure / Known or possible teratogen?

Group exposure to other possible teratogens (food additives, environmental toxins, etc) in the past week (be creative about what could possibly be in this category, i.e. electrical power lines, etc?)

Agent / Length or Amount of Exposure / Known or possible teratogen?