Gray Matter vs White Matter | Technology Networks

What is the function of gray matter? Gray matter-heavy brain regions include those that control muscular and sensory activity. Cerebral cortex - ... We'veupdatedourPrivacyPolicytomakeitclearerhowweuseyourpersonaldata. Weusecookiestoprovideyouwithabetterexperience.YoucanreadourCookiePolicyhere. IUnderstand Advertisement Article GrayMattervsWhiteMatter Published:August20,2019   |  LastUpdated:February21,2022 |  RuairiJMackenzie RuairiJMackenzie SeniorScienceWriter RuairiisaseniorsciencewriteratTechnologyNetworks.HeholdsaMaster'sdegreeinclinicalneurosciencesfromtheUniversityofCambridgeandhaswrittenforTechnologyNetworkssince2018. Learnaboutoureditorialpolicies Article GrayMattervsWhiteMatter Published:August20,2019   |  LastUpdated:February21,2022 |  RuairiJMackenzie RuairiJMackenzie SeniorScienceWriter RuairiisaseniorsciencewriteratTechnologyNetworks.HeholdsaMaster'sdegreeinclinicalneurosciencesfromtheUniversityofCambridgeandhaswrittenforTechnologyNetworkssince2018. 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Thebrainisanimmenselycomplexstructure,buttherearewayswecandivideupitsanatomicalstructureintomorediscreteparts;theleftandrighthemisphere,parietal,temporal,occipitalandfrontallobes.Anothercommondivideristoseparatethebrain’sgrayandwhitematter.Butwhatarethesetwostructures?Howdifferentaretheyfromeachother?Howsignificant,andphysiologicallyrelevant,isthisdivide?Readontofindout!DifferencesbetweenGrayandWhiteMatterWhatisgraymatter?Graymatterconsistsprimarilyofneuronalcellbodies,orsoma.Thisasphericalstructurethathousestheneuron’snucleus.Whatiswhitematter?Whitematterareasofthebrainmainlyconsistofmyelinatedaxons,whicharelongrelaysthatextendoutfromthesoma,andwhicharewhiteishincolorduetotherelativelyhighlipidfatcontentofthemyelinproteinthatsheathesthem,Theseformconnectionsbetweenbraincells,andwhitematteristypicallydistributedintobundlescalledtracts.Isitreallythatsimple?Notquite.Whilsttheabovedivisionisphysiologicallyaccurateonasystemlevel,thereareamixofcelltypespresentinbothgrayandwhitematter.Graymatteralsocontains:AxontractsGlialcellsCapillarybloodvesselsNeuropil–amixofdendrites,unmyelinatedaxons,andgliaWhitematteralsocontains:Oligodendrocytes–glialcellswhichproducemyelinAstrocytesHowaregraymatterandwhitematterarrangedintheCNS?Bothgrayandwhitematterarespreadthroughoutthehumancentralnervoussystem–thebrainandspinalcord.Figure1:Thearrangementofwhiteandgraymatterinthebrain.GrayMatterLocationNeuronalcellbodiesareabundantinthecerebrum,brainstemandcerebellum.Thislatterstructure,whichmakesupjust10%ofbrainvolume,containsmoreneuronsthantherestofthebrainputtogether.Inthespinalcord,graymatterformsa“butterfly”structure,whichcanbevisualizedbelowinfigure2.Sowhichregionsofthecentralnervoussystemhaveanexternallayerofgraymatter?Wecanthinkofthecerebrumandcerebellumasthebrainregionswhichhaveanexternallayerofgraymatter(seefigure1).Thebrainstem’sgraymatterislocatedingroupsofneuronscallednucleiwhichareembeddedwithinwhitemattertracts.WhitematterlocationAspreviouslymentioned,whitematterisorganizedintotractsofaxons.Inthecerebrumandcerebellum,whitematterispredominantlyfoundindeeperareas–withgraymattercoatingthewhitematter-seefigure1.Othergraymatterstructures,likethebasalganglia,areembeddedwithinthiswhitemattercore.Thebrain’sfluid-filledventriclesarealsofoundwithinthewhitematter.Inthespinalcord,thingsarelargelyreversed–thewhitematterisdistributedaroundthecentralgraymatter“butterfly”.Figure2:Thearrangementofwhiteandgraymatterinthespinalcord. Graymatterandwhitematter:functionWhatisthefunctionofgraymatter?Graymatter-heavybrainregionsincludethosethatcontrolmuscularandsensoryactivity. Cerebralcortex-Theouterlayerofthebrain,thecerebralcortex,consistsofcolumnsofgraymatterneurons,withwhitematterlocatedunderneath.Thisareaisessentialtomanyfacetsofhigherlearning,includingattention,memory,andthought.Cerebellum-Thecerebellumisessentialformotorcontrol,coordination,andprecision.Whatisthefunctionofwhitematter?Neuron-richbrainregionswouldn’tcountformuchwithouttherichveinsofaxonalconnectionscontainedwithinwhitemattertojointhemup.NewsWhiteMatterConnectionsCouldBetheKeytoSuccessfulBrainStimulationREADMOREThewhitefattymyelinthatgivesthistissueitsnameisalsoessentialtoitsfunction–myelininsulatesaxons,lettingthesignalwithintravelfarfaster,enablingthenervecellfunctionthatisessentialtonormalmotorandsensoryfunction.DiseasesofgrayandwhitematterGraymatterdiseaseDiseasesthatcausethelossoftheneuronsthatmakeupgraymatterareprimarilycalledneurodegenerativediseases.Thesediseases,whichincludedementiaslikeAlzheimer’sdiseaseandfrontotemporaldementia,affectmillionsofpeopleworldwide.Whitematteralterationsareoftenpresentinthesediseases,butphysiologicalhallmarkssuchasamyloidplaquesandtauneurofibrillarytanglesarelocatedinthegraymatter.Asmightbeexpected,theregionwhereneuronsarelostlargelydictatesdiseaseprogression–themotorsymptomsofParkinson’sdiseasearedirectlyrelatedtothelossofdopamine-producingneuronsinthesubstantianigra.WhitematterdiseaseAsJamesBalmphrasesitinhisarticlefortheBMC,whitemattertractsarethesubwaysofthebrain,vitalconnectionsthatensurethesmoothoperationofournervoussystem.Assuch,diseasethataffectsourwhitemattercandisruptthisnervesignaltransitandcanbeaseriousissue.Multiplesclerosis–In multiplesclerosis (MS)thewhitefattymyelincoatingaroundaxonsisdestroyed,leadingtomotororsensorydisruption.Inrelapsing-remittingmultiplesclerosis,thismyelincanberepairedandlostmultipletimes.Inprogressivemultiplesclerosis,axonaldamageisfollowedbyneurondeath,whichisirreversible.Whitematterdisease–responsibleforroughlyafifthofstrokesworldwide,whitematterdiseases affect bloodvesselsburiedwithinwhitematter.Theseharden,preventingoxygenandothernutrientsfromreachingthewhitematter.Spinalcordinjury–Whentheaxonbundlesinthespinalcordare damaged,theconnectionbetweenthebrainandspinalcordgraymatterislost.Thiscancauseparalysisandsensoryissues,whichareoftenpermanentifneuronalbodiesaredamaged. MeetTheAuthor RuairiJMackenzie SeniorScienceWriter Morefromthisauthor> Advertisement Chosenforyou Article HowToChooseaSpatialBiologyPlatformforYourLab IndustryInsight CRACKingtheBrain’sCellularCode:AnInterviewWithProfessorJerryChen Article ElectrophysiologyFundamentals,MembranePotentialandElectrophysiologicalTechniques Advertisement Advertisement