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White matter is the tissue through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter within the central nervous system. The white matter is white because of the fatty substance (myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibers (axons). This myelin is found in almost all long nerve fibers, and acts as an electrical insulation.
Grey matter, or gray matter in American English, is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries.
Gray matter forms the brain’s outermost layer and is involved in several important functions, including cognition, whereas white matter is essential to maintain connectivity between regions of ...
In the CNS, grey matter, which contains the synapses, is important for information processing. White matter, containing myelinated axons, connects and facilitates nerve impulse between grey matter areas in the CNS. [14] In the PNS, the ganglion tissue, containing the cell bodies and dendrites, contain relay points for nerve tissue impulses. The ...
Dissection of a human brain with labels showing the clear division between white and gray matter. Microscopically, there are differences between the neurons and tissue of the CNS and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). [11] The CNS is composed of white and gray matter. [9] This can also be seen macroscopically on brain tissue.
A first-of-its-kind case study has highlighted the ways in which the brain changes throughout pregnancy, including decreases in gray matter volume, and increases in white matter.
The periaqueductal gray (PAG), also known as the central gray, is a brain region that plays a critical role in autonomic function, motivated behavior and behavioural responses to threatening stimuli. [1] [2] PAG is also the primary control center for descending pain modulation. It has enkephalin-producing cells that suppress pain.
Being rich in lipid, myelin appears white, hence the name given to the "white matter" of the CNS. Both CNS white matter tracts (e.g. the optic nerve, corticospinal tract and corpus callosum) and PNS nerves (e.g. the sciatic nerve and the auditory nerve, which also appear white) each comprise thousands to millions of axons, largely aligned in ...