What is brain grey matter and white matter?
What is brain grey matter and white matter?
Overview. The tissue called “gray matter” in the brain and spinal cord is also known as substantia grisea, and is made up of cell bodies. “White matter”, or substantia alba, is composed of nerve fibers.
What does grey matter in the brain do?
[6] The grey matter throughout the central nervous system allows enables individuals to control movement, memory, and emotions. Different areas of the brain are responsible for various functions, and grey matter plays a significant role in all aspects of human life.
What Happens When white matter is damaged?
White matter damage can cause a great deal of stress and increase the energy demands on the neuron. In some cases, the neuron will not be able to meet the energy demands and the entire neuron will die (cell body, axon, and dendrites). This often starts with retraction of the injured axon.
What happens if you have too much grey matter?
If there is no oxygen reaching the grey matter, this can cause the cells to die and result in irreversible brain damage and loss of function. Damage to the cerebral cortex in general can result in a variety of symptoms depending on the area that damage occurs.
What is the difference between a white matter and grey matter?
Difference Between White Matter and Gray Matter The basic colourations of both tissues have been the basis for the naming, and their colours can be considered to distinguish the two. Gray matter forms the processing units of sensory function while white matter forms the connections among gray matter units. The white matter is slightly more prominent (60%) than gray matter (40%) in the quantity.
Why does white matter appear different from gray matter?
White matter is white because the long projections of the neurons, called axons, are covered with an insulating layer of (mostly) fats called myelin . Gray matter is gray because there is little or no myelin present, because there are only cell bodies and short, unmyelinated axons present in the gray matter.
What function does white matter serve in the brain?
White matter Structure. White matter is composed of bundles, which connect various grey matter areas (the locations of nerve cell bodies) of the brain to each other, and carry nerve impulses between Function. Research. Imaging. See also References. External links.
What are the functional differences between Gray and white matter?
The CNS has two kinds of tissue: grey matter and white matter, Grey matter, which has a pinkish-grey color in the living brain, contains the cell bodies, dendrites and axon terminals of neurons, so it is where all synapses are. White matter is made of axons connecting different parts of grey matter to each other.
