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Biography
other usesInfobox Anatomy |Name = Grey matter | Latin = substantia grisea | GraySubject = | GrayPage = | Image = spinal nerve.svg| Caption = The formation of the spinal nerve from the dorsal and ventral roots. (Gray matter labeled at center right.) | Image2 = Grey matter and white matter - very high mag.jpg | Caption2 = Micrograph showing grey matter, with the characteristic neuron|neuronal cell bodies (right of image - dark shade of pink), and white matter with its characteristic fine meshwork-like appearance (left of image - lighter shade of pink). HPS stain .| System = | MeshName = | MeshNumber = | Dorlands = nine/100008780 | DorlandsID = Gray matter | Code = Terminologia Anatomica|TA A14.1.00.002 | Grey matter (or gray matter ) is a major component of the central nervous system , consisting of neuron al Soma (biology)|cell bodies , neuropil ( dendrites and myelin|unmyelinated axons ), glial cell s ( astroglia and oligodendrocytes ) and Capillary|capillaries . Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter , which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts.cite book | author = Purves, Dale, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, William C. Hall, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, James O. McNamara, and Leonard E. White | title = Neuroscience. 4th ed. | publisher = Sinauer Associates | pages = 15–16 | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-87893-697-7 The color difference arises mainly from the whiteness of myelin. In living tissue, grey matter actually has a grey-brown color, which comes from capillary blood vessels and neuronal cell bodies.
Function
Grey matter is made up of neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, and speech.
Distribution
Grey matter is distributed at the surface of the cerebral hemisphere s ( cerebral cortex ) and of the cerebellum ( cerebellar cortex ), as well as in the depths of the cerebrum ( thalamus ; hypothalamus ; subthalamus , basal ganglia - putamen , globus pallidus , nucleus accumbens ; septal nuclei ), cerebellar (deep cerebellar nuclei - dentate nucleus , globose nucleus , emboliform nucleus , fastigial nucleus ), brainstem ( substantia nigra , red nucleus , olivary body|olivary nuclei , cranial nerve nuclei ) and spinal cord|spinal grey matter ( Anterior horn (spinal cord)|anterior horn , lateral horn , posterior horn of lateral ventricle|posterior horn ).
Research
Volume and cognition in elderly people
Significant positive correlations have been found between grey matter volume in elderly persons and measures of semantic and short-term memory. No significant correlations with white matter volume were found. These results suggest that individual variability in specific cognitive functions that are relatively well preserved with ageing is accounted for by the variability of gray matter volume in healthy elderly subjects.cite web|last=Taki, Y., Kinomura, S., Sato, K., Goto, R., Wu, K., Kawashima, R., & Fukuda, H.|title=Correlation between gray/white matter volume and cognition in healthy elderly people.|url= http://web.ebscohost.com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/ehost/detail? vid=3& hid=15& sid=bb077608-d2b7-4bbd-b006-85f23b27db1b%40sessionmgr11& bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh& AN=2011-01976-010|publisher=Brain and Cognition|accessdate=2011-04-21
Volume associated with bipolar disorder
Some structural differences in grey matter may be associated with psychiatric disorders. There was no difference in whole-brain grey matter volume between patients with bipolar I disorder and healthy controls. Subjects with bipolar I disorder had smaller volumes in the left inferior parietal lobule, right superior temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left caudate. Only the volume of the right middle frontal gyrus was correlated with duration of illness and the number of episodes in patients.cite web|last=Li, M., Cui, L., Deng, W., Ma, X., Huang, C., Jiang, L., & ... Li, T.|title=Voxel-based morphometric analysis on the volume of gray matter in bipolar I disorder|url= http://web.ebscohost.com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/ehost/detail? vid=5& hid=15& sid=bb077608-d2b7-4bbd-b006-85f23b27db1b%40sessionmgr11& bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh& AN=2011-02038-003|publisher=Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging|accessdate=2011-04-21
Effects of smoking
Older smokers lose grey matter and cognitive function at a greater rate than non-smokers. Chronic smokers who quit during the study lost fewer brain cells and retained better intellectual function than those who continued to smoke.cite web|last=Almeida|first=Osvaldo|title=Smoking causes brain cell loss and cognitive decline|url= http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201102093273/business-and-industry/smoking-causes-brain-cell-loss-and-cognitive-decline|publisher=NeuroImage|accessdate=2011-04-21
Effects of child abuse
Adolescents who were subjected to child abuse|abuse and neglect appear to have decreased gray matter in the prefrontal cortex . http://news.yale.edu/2011/12/05/past-abuse-leads-loss-gray-matter-brains-adolescents-0
See also
Gray matter heterotopia
Neuropil
Rexed laminae
Substantia nigra
White matter
Additional images
References
reflist
External links
eMedicineDictionary|Gray+matter
Nervous tissueSpinal cordMedullaPonsMesencephalonCerebellumDiencephalonRostral basal ganglia and associated structuresCerebral cortex DEFAULTSORT:Grey Matter Category:Neuroanatomy Category:Central nervous system
