Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers | April 17, 2025 | Personal Injury
White Matter Vs. Grey Matter In The Brain And Spinal Cord
Both white matter and grey matter are essential to brain function, but each has different purposes. Understanding the basic functions of these materials is helpful if you or someone you care about experiences an injury to the brain or spinal cord.
What Is Grey Matter?
Grey matter is made of densely packed nerve cells called neurons. The high concentration of neurons gives it a pinkish-grey color when it comes in contact with certain materials. The cells in grey matter are directly responsible for emotions, thinking skills, and muscle control.
Grey matter is located in the brain and the spinal cord. Most of the brain’s outer layer is made of grey matter. It can also be found in the cerebrum and inside the spinal cord.
What Is White Matter?
White matter is made mostly of nerve fibers known as axons. The axons have a whitish color because they are wrapped in a myelin sheath, which appears white. The myelin sheath also affects the speed of signals that travel between neurons. White matter carries signals between the areas of grey matter. It assists with balance, information recall, and emotional health.
White and Grey Matter in the Brain
Traumatic brain injuries often occur in auto accidents or accidental falls, where injury to the brain is so severe that the person cannot survive.
When the brain is injured, it can affect either the white matter, the grey matter, or both. White matter injuries occur when myelinated axons get damaged. This disables communication between areas of grey matter and can affect a person’s memory and ability to feel or express emotions appropriately. Recovery from white matter damage is possible if the brain connections can be strengthened.
Injury to the brain’s grey matter can be more serious than injury to white matter. Grey matter damage can cause memory loss, loss of language, judgment, and reason, and an inability to make complex decisions.
This type of brain damage also affects fine motor skills. There is no treatment for grey matter damage. When neurons die, they can’t be regenerated. Symptom management is the only treatment for grey matter damage.
White and Grey Matter in the Spinal Cord
There are many ways to damage the spinal cord. Some spinal cord injuries can lead to long-term disability or even death.
Damage to white matter in the spinal cord can cause difficulty coordinating muscle movements, balance and walking issues, and problems with executive function. Because white matter helps regulate emotions, injury may also lead to changes in psychological health, such as depression.
A large percentage of the spinal cord is made of grey matter. When grey matter in the spinal cord is damaged, the result may be neurological dysfunction and difficulty walking or moving.
Have You Suffered an Injury to the Brain or Spinal Cord?
The white and grey matter inside your brain and spinal cord work together to make the body function. Serious damage to either material could result in a number of medical complications, including disability and death.
The chances of recovery are lower if the person’s grey matter is injured because the neurons in grey matter cannot be rejuvenated. However, any brain or spinal cord injury can be serious and potentially life-changing.
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