what is the function of gray matter

Full Answer

What is grey matter and what does it do?

Gray Matter (Grey Matter) Gray matter is the most important component of the nervous system that is composed of regions of the brain responsible for sensory perception, memory, emotions, speech, and for almost all the muscle control. Gray matter is composed of neuronal cell bodies, glial cells, and capillaries.

What are the functional differences between Gray and white matter?

• 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. • Cells of the white matter are longer than gray matter cells.

Is gray matter good for the brain?

Your brain is the centre of control in your body. All your activities are coordinated and executed with the help of your brain. It is the grey matter of the brain that controls the memory, the senses, emotions, speech as well as impulse control. An increased amount of grey matter improves IQ and increases the brain’s efficiency.

What does grey matter in the brain do?

Grey matter serves to process information in the brain. The structures within the grey matter process signals from the sensory organs or from other areas of the grey matter. This tissue directs sensory stimuli to the neurons in the central nervous system where synapses induce a response to the stimuli.

What is the function of grey matter and white matter?

The gray matter is the areas where the actual "processing" is done whereas the white matter provides the communication between different gray matter areas and between the gray matter and the rest of the body. The neurons in the gray matter consist of neuronal cell bodies and their dendrites.

What is the function of the gray matter quizlet?

What is the function of Gray Matter? It collects and processes incoming (afferent) sensory or outgoing (efferent) information.

What does gray matter in the brain mean?

Grey matter contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, and sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control.

What is the gray matter of the brain quizlet?

Gray matter is on the outer-most part of the brain and it contains cell bodies, dendrites, and unmyelinated axons. White matter is in the inner-most part of the brain, consists of myelinated axons. The spinal cord had the gray matter in the middle and the white matter on the outside, the opposite from the brain.

What is function of white matter?

Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distribution of action potentials, acting as a relay and coordinating communication between different brain regions.

What happens if grey matter is reduced?

Aside from a loss in cognitive functioning, grey matter decline can lead to motor function issues such as losing control of fine motor skills. The decrease in motor function could contribute to the uncontrollable shaking that is a symptom of Parkinson's Disease.

What causes loss of grey matter?

Diseases that cause the loss of the neurons that make up gray matter are primarily called neurodegenerative diseases. These diseases, which include dementias like Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia, affect millions of people worldwide.

Is more gray matter good?

"There is a constant cascade of information being processed in the entire brain, but intelligence seems related to an efficient use of relatively few structures, where the more grey matter the better," he says.

Which of the following is gray matter quizlet?

Gray matter is one of the major components of the central nervous system. It consists of: neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, glial cells, unmyelinated axons, capillaries and synapses. It makes up the cortex of the brain, cerebellum and brainstem and is located inside the spinal cord.

What does grey matter contain?

The grey matter is mainly composed of neuronal cell bodies and unmyelinated axons. Axons are the processes that extend from neuronal cell bodies, carrying signals between those bodies.

What is white matter quizlet?

What is white matter? White matter is composed of bundles of myelinated axons, which connect various gray matter areas of the brain to each other, and carry nerve impulses between neurons.

What is white matter composed of?

White matter is found in the deeper tissues of the brain (subcortical). It contains nerve fibers (axons), which are extensions of nerve cells (neurons). Many of these nerve fibers are surrounded by a type of sheath or covering called myelin. Myelin gives the white matter its color.

What is gray matter?

It is known as gray matter or gray matter to the element that constitutes certain areas of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of characteristic gray color, composed of neuronal bodies (the “body” of neurons) and dendrites devoid of myelin, together with glial cells or neuroglia.

Gray matter function

Through neural connections, gray matter fulfills mental and cognitive functions.

Location of gray matter

Gray matter is found on the entire brain surface, as it makes up the cortex of the brain, the most developed, complex and most connected area of ​​our entire nervous system. It is also found in the basal ganglia, deep in the cerebellum, and in the areas of the thalamus and hypothalamus.

Importance of gray matter

Thanks to gray matter, complex, creative and abstract thought patterns emerged.

Gray matter and white matter

Gray matter differs from white matter in much more than its color, determined by the high presence of dendrites with myelin in the latter (myelin is whitish in color).

What is the function of grey matter?

Function. Grey matter contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, and sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control.

What is gray matter?

Grey matter (or gray matter) 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. Grey matter is distinguished from white matter in that it contains numerous cell ...

What is grisea in Latin?

In the current edition of the official Latin nomenclature, Terminologia Anatomica, substantia grisea is used for English grey matter. The adjective grisea for grey is however not attested in classical Latin. The adjective grisea is derived from the French word for grey, gris.

How long does grey matter change after pregnancy?

The grey matter reductions endured for at least 2 years post-pregnancy. The profile of brain changes is comparable to that taking place during adolescence, a hormonally similar transitional period of life.

What is the grey matter on the left side of the spinal cord?

The grey matter on the left and right side is connected by the grey commissure. The grey matter in the spinal cord consists of interneurons, as well as the cell bodies of projection neurons .

How is grey matter different from white matter?

Grey matter is distinguished from white matter in that it contains numerous cell bodies and relatively few myelinated axons, while white matter contains relatively few cell bodies and is composed chiefly of long-range myelinated axons. The colour difference arises mainly from the whiteness of myelin.

When does grey matter decrease?

Recent studies using cross-sectional neuroimaging have shown that by around the age of 8 the volume of grey matter begins to decrease. However, the density of grey matter appears to increase as a child develops into early adulthood.

What is the purpose of gray matter?

The whole purpose of it is to process information in the brain. The structures that make up gray matter process the signals that are generated by the sensory organs (eyes, tongue, ears, nose, and skin) and other areas of the gray matter. The tissue then directs the sensory stimuli (motor stimuli) to the nerve cells within the central nervous system where the synapses produce a response to the stimuli. These signals reach the gray matter via the myelinated axons (the material that makes up white matter) in the cerebellum, cerebrum, and spine.

What is gray matter?

Gray matter, also spelled grey matter (British spelling) and also called substantia grisea, is the part of the brain that is controlled by the true dendrites (the short branching fibers that carry messages and impulses to the cell body) and nerve cell bodies (which bring information to the neurons). An easier definition is that it’s the unmyelinated neurons (a special coating for the nerve fibers) and other cells of the central nervous system. It is found in the brain, the brainstem, the cerebellum, and the spinal cord. Altogether, it makes up about 40% of the brain.

What is the difference between gray matter and white matter?

The brain is divided into two categories: gray matter and white matter. While gray matter makes up about 40% of the brain , it takes up 94% of the brains’ oxygen. White matter makes up the other 60% of the brain.

What happens if you have too much gray matter?

What happens when you have too much gray matter? Well, gray matter heterotopia happens. It’s a neurological disorder that is caused by clumps of gray matter that are located in the wrong part of the brain. The neurons within the gray clumps are normal, like all other gray matter, they are just in the wrong part of the brain. Gray matter heterotopia can cause epilepsy, mental retardation, a loss of motor skills, and/or a disability to function cognitively on higher levels. The severity can cause the symptoms to range from almost nothing to incredibly profound. Sometimes, someone is found to have grey matter heterotopia by having a brain scan for another condition and had no prior knowledge or symptoms of their misplaced grey matter.

What is the gray column of the spinal cord?

Within the spinal cord, gray matter is called the gray column (gray column). It consists of interneurons and cell bodies of projection neurons. It travels downward from the top of the spinal cord t the bottom and is distributed into three gray columns that are shaped like an “H”. The first column is forward-facing and is known as the anterior gray column. The second column is rear-facing and is known as the posterior gray column. The third column interlinks and is known as the lateral gray column. The left side and right side gray matter is connected by the gray commissure– a thin strip of gray matter that surrounds the main canal of the spinal cord and that connects the two halves of the spinal cord using white commissure from white matter, as well.

Why is gray matter gray?

Gray matter is gray due to the gray nuclei that make up the cells within it. White matter, because it has myelin, appears white. However, when the brain is in a living person, the gray matter looks pinkish/brown due to the numerous tiny blood vessels are known as capillaries that are there.

How does multitasking affect gray matter?

Too much multitasking can affect your gray matter. In one of the first studies ever that correlates a direct link between the physical structure of the brain and behavior, multimedia multitasking has its impact on our social-emotional well-being as well as our overall cognition. Ryota Kanai and Kep Kee Loh from the University of Sussex’s Sackler Center for Consciousness Science took a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI) and they looked at the brain structure of 75 adults who had previously answered questions about their media use such as computers, cell phones, TV’s, and print media (newspapers). People who reported using more devices (a computer and a TV, rather than just a computer alone) had a lower grey matter density in their anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)– a part of the brain associated with emotional and cognitive processing.

What is the function of gray matter?

The Function of Gray and White Matter. First of all, the gray matter has a key role in controlling sensory and muscular activity ( 1 ). More precisely, the brain regions which predominantly contain the grey matter are involved in these processes. For example, the cerebral cortex, which is the outer layer or surface structure of the brain, ...

What is the difference between gray matter and white matter?

Namely, the gray matter contains glial cells, axon tracts, neuropil (glia, dendrites, and unmyelinated axons), as well as capillary blood vessels ( 1 ). The white matter contains the glial cells responsible for the production of myelin ...

Where is the white matter located?

This means they are located in deeper areas of the cerebellum and cerebrum.

Why does MS cause neuron death?

On the other hand, the progressive MS leads to a neuron death caused by the axonal damage, which is an irreversible state ( 2 ).

What is the function of the cerebral cortex?

The cerebral cortex has several important functions. Those include learning, memory, cognitive processes, and attention. Furthermore, the function of gray matter in the cerebellum is related to motor control, balance, precision, and coordination. When it comes to the function of.

Where does the color of myelin come from?

The color comes from a high lipid fat content in mye lin. This structure connects the brain cells and is distributed in tracts or bundles.

Which cells are responsible for the production of myelin?

The white matter contains the glial cells responsible for the production of myelin (the oligodendrocytes) and the astrocytes ( 1 ).

What is gray matter?

Spinal Cord Gray Matter Functions. The gray matter is the area of the spinal cord where many types of neurons synapse. In the dorsal horns (or posterior horns), many incoming sensory neurons synapse with interneurons, which then distribute information to other parts of the spinal cord and brain.

Which neuron synapse with outgoing motor neurons?

In the lateral horns, descending autonomic pathway neurons synapse with outgoing sympathetic motor neurons.

What is the function of gray matter?

The main functions of the gray matter include all of the intellectual processes, our ability to sense, and some of our behavior patterns. In this regard, it transfers the stimuli received by the sensory organs via neurons to the respective centers of the brain where they are further processed, regulated, and controlled.

What is the gray matter?

Gray matter (Lat. substantia grisea) is the outer layer of the two brain hemispheres, i.e the cerebrum. The gray matter serves as a center of several specialized regions of the brain which regulate and control memory, attention, thought, language, consciousness, perception, etc.

What Happens if the Gray Matter of the Human Brain Is Dysfunctional?

Any damage to any part of the brain is usually irreversible and can result in the loss of function of the respective area.

What is the function of dendrites in a neuron?

Dendrites of neurons are extensions of a nerve cell that receive the signal from the other neurons via chemical signals and electric impulses obtained by the sensory organs. Then, they transmit this information to the soma, i.e. the body of the neuronal cell.

What is the function of the neuronal cell body?

Their primary role is to send and receive signals, i.e. information which they gain from the exterior sensory stimuli via electrical impulses to the particular centers of the brain.

What is the function of myelin in white matter?

At the same time, myelin insulates the axons (nerve fibers) of the white matter, thus protecting them from the electrically charged atoms and molecules.

Why is the brain jelly-like?

The human brain has a jelly-like structure because of the high water concentration in its structure. Namely, 77% to 80% of its entire mass is actually water. The greater part of this water concentration reaches the brain through our blood, i.e. the capillaries.

When does grey matter form?

Grey matter forms early in development from the ectoderm. The ectoderm continues to divide into specific cells until the entire central nervous system, both the brain and the spinal cord, has formed. Throughout development, the volume of grey matter increases until around the age of 8.[7] After year eight, the grey matter begins to decrease in areas of the brain, but the density of the grey matter in particular increases. This increase in density allows for high processing and further mental development of the individual.

How does grey matter affect the brain?

One of the most prevalent medical problems occurs when plaque begins to build up in areas of grey matter within the brain. These areas, known as senile plaques, take up space that was once grey matter, leading to a decrease of higher functioning. As amyloid beta continues to buildup in the grey matter, cognitive function further decreases, which causes the patient to lose memory, a condition known as Alzheimer disease.[10]  Furthermore, besides a loss in cognitive function, grey matter diseases can lead to issues with motor function as well. As the neurons in the substantia nigra begin to decrease the amount of dopamine that is released, the individual will lose control of fine motor skills. This decrease in motor function control contributes to the shaking found in patients with Parkinson disease. There are many more issues that may present themselves as the balance of grey matter is changed, and neural connections become disrupted.

What is the last section of grey matter in the spine?

The last section of grey matter in the spine is known as the lateral grey column. This lateral grey column is found in the middle of the grey matter of the spinal cord and extends out to the sides from the base of the spine. The lateral grey column is responsible for regulating the autonomic nervous system through its role in activating the sympathetic nervous system.

What is the anterior grey column?

The anterior grey column is important for all motor movements. The anterior portion of the grey matter connects to the brain through the pyramidal tract, which originates in the cerebral cortex.[8] Signal pass along the axons found in the white matter. As the signals meet at the spinal cord, the signals translate into a movement - the motor neurons located in the anterior grey column, thus allowing for voluntary motion. Besides having the responsibility of movement, the spinal cord also plays a crucial role in receiving sensory signals. The posterior grey column is the section of the spinal cord that receives sensory signals allowing for constant interaction between the environment and the body. Instead of being situated in the middle of the spinal cord, the posterior grey column is close to the surface of the spine, allowing for easy signaling from all nerves. The dorsal horns of the grey matter are positioned to receive signals from all areas of the body. The signals originate in nerves found in the skin, bones, or joints and travel through interneurons for immediate responses and through the dorsal column-medial lemniscus tract for more involved movement.[9] This second signal method is slightly slower as the electrical signal needs to move from the sensory nerves to the brain and then back to the anterior grey column to create movement.

What happens to grey matter when it is not exposed to oxygen?

Therefore when the grey matter does not have access to oxygen, the cells will begin to die, leading to possible irreversible brain damage and loss of function.   Additionally, under blunt force trauma situations, the grey matter may become damaged due to an intracerebral hemorrhage, which can lead to apoptosis of the grey matter cells.

What is the central nervous system made of?

The central nervous system is made up of grey matter and white matter. However, grey matter plays the most significant part in allowing humans to function normally daily.[1] Grey matter makes up the outer most layer of the brain.  The white matter and grey matter are similar as they are both essential sections of both the brain as well as the spinal cord.[2] The grey matter gets its grey tone from a high concentration of neuronal cell bodies.

Overview

Function

Grey matter contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, and sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control.
The grey matter in the spinal cord is split into three grey columns:
• The anterior grey column contains motor neurons. These synapse with interneurons and the axons of …

Structure

Clinical significance

History

Additional images

See also

External links