What role does gray matter play in the brain?
Function. 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.
How does grey matter affect depression?
Although grey-matter abnormalities in frontal–subcortical and limbic networks are thought to play a key role in the pathophysiology of depression, recent meta-analyses in late-life depression have shown that the most consistent evidence for brain-volume reductions is for the hippocampus, and not for other brain areas.
What is grey matter psychology?
Grey matter refers to unmyelinated neurons and other cells of the central nervous system. It is present in the brain, brainstem and cerebellum, and present throughout the spinal cord.
What is the importance of learning about gray matter and white matter especially in terms of diseases that resulted from its damage?
Even though many diseases affect both the white and the gray matter, it is important to note which diseases occur as a result of damage or trauma or initial changes in white or gray matter. For example, neural diseases that result in disruption of the transit of nerve signals originate from changes in the white matter.
What is gray matter and how is it affected by schizophrenia?
Meta-analytical reviews have consistently shown that schizophrenia is associated with a reduction in gray matter volume, indicating the anterior cingulate, thalamus, frontal lobe, hippocampal–amygdala region,12 superior temporal gyrus (STG) and left medial temporal lobe gray matter as key regions of structural deficits …
What is the difference between white matter and gray matter in the brain?
What is the difference between grey and white matter in the brain? The grey matter contains the cell bodies, dendrites and the axon terminals, where all synapses are. The white matter is made up of axons, which connect different parts of grey matter to each other.
Do people with depression have less GREY matter?
Results of these analyses indicated that studies with lower mean depression severity found smaller grey-matter volumes relative to controls in the left hippocampus (peak MNI=−30, −18, −16, Z=2.73, P<0.001, 40 voxels), studies with a smaller proportion of men found smaller grey-matter volume compared with controls in …
What does serotonin do to the body?
Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. This hormone impacts your entire body. It enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate with each other. Serotonin also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion.
What is in the grey matter?
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. Also found in the grey matter are the glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries.
What statement is true about the gray matter?
The correct answer is (a): It makes up the outer tissue layer in the brain. Gray matter consists of cell bodies and unmyelinated neural processes,…
What is gray matter and white matter in the brain?
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 is the difference between white matter and GREY matter in the brain?
The central nervous system of the brain is made up of two kinds of tissue: grey matter and white matter. The grey matter contains the cell bodies, dendrites and the axon terminals, where all synapses are. The white matter is made up of axons, which connect different parts of grey matter to each other.
What is the function of gray matter in the brain?
Gray matter ( or grey matter) in the brain is directly responsible for memory, seeing, hearing, executive functions, impulse control, emotions and speech.
Why is the brain referred to as gray matter?
The gray matter which got its name for the dark, grayish color, contains neural cell bodies. Also, it houses the axon terminals, nerve synapses, and the dendrites. The brain zones in which it prevails include the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and truncus encephali or the brain stem. It is also found in the spinal cord.
What are the functions of gray matter?
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.
What does grey matter in the brain do?
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.