What is Grey Matter? - News Medical

The grey matter serves to process information in the brain. Structures within the grey matter process signals generated in the sensory ... Weusecookiestoenhanceyourexperience.Bycontinuingtobrowsethissiteyouagreetoouruseofcookies. Moreinfo. Accept CookieSettings WhatisGreyMatter? DownloadPDFCopy BySallyRobertson,B.Sc. Thecentralnervoussystemismadeupoftwotypesoftissue:thegreymatterandthewhitematter. Thegreymatterismainlycomposedofneuronalcellbodiesandunmyelinatedaxons.Axonsaretheprocessesthatextendfromneuronalcellbodies,carryingsignalsbetweenthosebodies.Inthegreymatter,theseaxonsaremainlyunmyelinated,meaningtheyarenotcoveredbyawhitish-colored,fattyproteincalledmyelin. Thegreymatterservestoprocessinformationinthebrain.Structureswithinthegreymatterprocesssignalsgeneratedinthesensoryorgansorotherareasofthegreymatter.Thistissuedirectssensory(motor)stimulitonervecellsinthecentralnervoussystemwheresynapsesinducearesponsetothestimuli.Thesesignalsreachthegreymatterthroughmyelinatedaxonsthatmakeupthebulkofthewhitematterinthecerebrum,cerebellumandspine. Alsofoundinthegreymatteraretheglialcells(astrogliaandoligodendrocytes)andcapillaries.Theglialcellstransportnutrientsandenergytotheneuronsandmayeveninfluencehowwelltheneuronsfunctionandcommunicate.Becauseaxonsinthegreymatteraremainlyunmyelinated,thegreyishhueoftheneuronsandglialcellscombinewiththeredofthecapillariestogivethistissueitsgreyish-pinkcolor(afterwhichitisnamed). Whitematter,ontheotherhand,ismainlycomposedoflong-rangemyelinatedaxons(thattransmitsignalstothegreymatter)andveryfewneuronalcellbodies.Myelinformsaprotectivecoatingaroundtheseaxons,insulatingthemandimprovingtheirtransmissionofneuronalsignals.Thismyelin-densenervoustissueisthereforewhitishincolor.Thegreymatterdoescontainsomemyelinatedaxons,butonlyafewcomparedtothewhitematter,whichiswherethecolordifferencearises. RelatedStoriesAlarmingCOVIDstudyindicateslong-termlossofgraymatterandotherbraintissueCOVID-19maycausebrainshrinkageinsomepeopleWhitematterisfoundburiedintheinnerlayerofthebrain’scortex,whilethegreymatterismainlylocatedonthesurfaceofthebrain.Thespinalcordisarrangedintheoppositeway,withgreymatterfounddeepinsideitscoreandtheinsulatingwhitematterwrappedaroundtheoutside.Somegreymatterisalsofounddeepinsidethecerebelluminthebasalganglia,thalamusandhypothalamusandwhitematterisalsofoundintheopticnervesandthebrainstem. Thecerebrumiswherethemorecomplexbrainfunctionsoccurandinhumansandotherlargevertebrates,thisstructurehasgrowntoformaconvolutedlayerofgreymatter.Thelargertheanimal,themoreconvolutedthisgreymatteris.Smallanimalssuchasthemarmosettendtohavesmoothbrains,whileinlargermammalssuchasthewhaleorelephantthegreymatterishighlyconvoluted.Insidethisoutercortexofgreymatteristhewhitemattercontainingthemyelinatednervefibres. Furtherdetailsaboutwhereexactlythegreymatterislocatedaregivenbelow. Thesurfaceofthecerebralhemispheresorcerebralcortex Thesurfaceofthecerebellumorcerebellarcortex. Deepwithinthecerebruminthehypothalamus,thalamus,subthalamusandinthestructuresthatmakeupthebasalganglia(theglobuspallidus,putamen,andnucleusaccumbens). Deepwithinthecerebellarinthedentatenucleus,emboliformnucleus,fastigialnucleusandglobosenucleus. Inthebrainstemintherednucleus, olivarynuclei, substantianigraandthecranialnervenuclei. Inthespinal greymatterincludingtheanteriorhorn,thelateralhornandtheposteriorhorn. Sources http://www.indiana.edu/~p1013447/dictionary/greywhit.htm http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Grey_matter.html http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/128/6/1454.full.pdf http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/197/2/141.full.pdf http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242692/gray-matter http://www.livescience.com/32605-why-is-gray-matter-gray.html FurtherReadingAllGreyMatterContent LastUpdated:Aug23,2018 WrittenbySallyRobertsonSallyfirstdevelopedaninterestinmedicalcommunicationswhenshetookontheroleofJournalDevelopmentEditorforBioMedCentral(BMC),afterhavinggraduatedwithadegreeinbiomedicalsciencefromGreenwichUniversity. DownloadPDFCopy CitationsPleaseuseoneofthefollowingformatstocitethisarticleinyouressay,paperorreport:APARobertson,Sally.(2018,August23).WhatisGreyMatter?.News-Medical.RetrievedonMarch26,2022fromhttps://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx.MLARobertson,Sally."WhatisGreyMatter?".News-Medical.26March2022..ChicagoRobertson,Sally."WhatisGreyMatter?".News-Medical.https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx.(accessedMarch26,2022).HarvardRobertson,Sally.2018.WhatisGreyMatter?.News-Medical,viewed26March2022,https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx. Comments Wouldorcouldthisbeatruestatement?"Themoregraymatterthereisin RaithSebring says: October31,2016at2:50AM Wouldorcouldthisbeatruestatement?"Themoregraymatterthereisinsomeone'sbrain(oraspecificregionof)themoreeffectivetheirbrain(orbrainregion)is." 1 0 Reply Whydoesmatter,matter? KennethFrederick says: October21,2017at11:59AM Whydoesmatter,matter? 0 0 Reply Woulditbepossibleforthetwodifferentmatters,beconjoined,insome KennethFrederick says: October21,2017at12:03PM Woulditbepossibleforthetwodifferentmatters,beconjoined,insomemysticalway,astohavetheabilitytohaveESP? 0 0 Reply aStudyshouldbemadetoseekacorrelationbetween,electricalpulseof KennethFrederick says: October21,2017at12:06PM aStudyshouldbemadetoseekacorrelationbetween,electricalpulseofthematterbeingintertwinedwiththespinalcordwithinthegreymatter. 0 0 Reply TheopinionsexpressedherearetheviewsofthewriteranddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandopinionsofNewsMedical. 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