White matter
hideWhite matter is one of the two components of the central nervous system and consists mostly of myelinated axons. White matter tissue of the freshly cut brain appears pinkish white to the naked eye because of myelin is composed largely of lipid and a few percent of capillaries. Its white color is due to its usual preservation in formaldehyde. A 20 year-old male has around 176,000 km of myelinated axons in his brain.
The other main component of the brain is grey matter (actually pinkish tan due to blood capillaries). A third colored component found in the brain that appears darker due to higher levels of melanin in dopaminergic neurons than its nearby areas is the substantia nigra.
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News tagged with white matter
High unexpressed anger in MS patients linked to nervous system damage, not disease severity
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 24, 2009 |
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People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) feel more than twice as much withheld anger as the general population and this could have an adverse effect on their relationships and health, according to a study published in the December ...
New neuroimaging analysis technique identifies impact of Alzheimer's disease gene in healthy brains
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even ...
Regeneration can be achieved after chronic spinal cord injury
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original ...
Faulty 'wiring' in the brain triggers onset of schizophrenia
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King's College London has discovered abnormalities in the white matter of the brain that seem to be critical for the timing of schizophrenia. The study, led ...
Matter in hand: Jugglers have rewired brains
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Learning to juggle leads to changes in the white matter of the brain, an Oxford University study has shown.
Surprising results in teen study: adolescent risky behavior may signal mature brain
Aug 26, 2009 |
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A new study using brain imaging to study teen behavior indicates that adolescents who engage in dangerous activities have frontal white matter tracts that are more adult in form than their more conservative peers.
Brain damage seen on brain scans may predict memory loss in old age
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 10, 2009 |
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Areas of brain damage seen on brain scans and originally thought to be related to stroke may help doctors predict a person's risk of memory problems in old age, according to research published in the August 11, 2009, print ...
High blood pressure may lead to 'silent' strokes
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 27, 2009 |
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"Silent" strokes, which are strokes that don't result in any noticeable symptoms but cause brain damage, are common in people over 60, and especially in those with high blood pressure, according to a study published in the ...
White matter changes may predict dementia risk
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 13, 2009 |
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Elderly people with no memory or thinking problems are more likely to later develop thinking problems if they have a growing amount of "brain rust," or small areas of brain damage, according to a study published in the July ...
Alterations in brain's white matter key to schizophrenia, study shows
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jun 22, 2009 |
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Schizophrenia, a chronic and debilitating disorder marked in part by auditory hallucinations and paranoia, can strike in late adolescence or early adulthood at a time when people are ready to stand on their own two feet as ...
Adolescent binge drinking may compromise the brain's white matter, necessary for information relay
Apr 22, 2009 |
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Researchers know that the integrity of the brain's white matter is compromised in adult alcoholics, but it is unclear when during the course of drinking white matter abnormalities become apparent. A study of adolescent binge ...
Prenatal meth exposure linked to abnormal brain development
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 15, 2009 |
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A first of its kind study examining the effects of methamphetamine use during pregnancy has found the drug appears to cause abnormal brain development in children. The research is published in the April 15, 2009, online issue ...
Study gives more proof that intelligence is largely inherited
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Mar 17, 2009 |
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They say a picture tells a thousand stories, but can it also tell how smart you are? Actually, say UCLA researchers, it can.
Heavy marijuana use may damage developing brain in teens, young adults
Feb 02, 2009 |
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Adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study. Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas ...
Source of cognitive decline in aging brains
Jan 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As people age, memory and the ability to carry out tasks often decline. Scientists looking for ways to lessen that decline often have focused on the "gray matter" -- the cortical regions where high-level ...
