white matter definition: 1. the pale tissue containing nerve fibres (= structures like threads) found in the brain and…. White matter hyperintensities is a term you might hear used to describe spots in the brain that show up on magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) as bright white areas. White matter alterations were observed within bilateral anterior thalamic radiation and superior longitudinal fasciculus that intersects with subinsular white matter. Learn more. gray matter areas of the nervous system where the nerve fibers are unmyelinated (not enveloped by a myelin sheath); it contains the bodies of the nerve cells. Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR; White matter: The part of the brain that contains myelinated nerve fibers.
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The white matter is white because it is the color of myelin, the insulation that covers nerve fibers. Psychology Definition of WHITE MATTER: portions of the nervous system made up of nerve fibers which are encaged in a myelin sheath, that renders a white coloration to an otherwise grayish neural Myelin acts as an insulator, which allows electrical signals to jump, rather than coursing through the axon, increasing the speed of transmission of all nerve signals.
The integrity of cerebral white matter is critical for efficient cognitive functioning, but little is known regarding the role of white matter integrity in age-related differences in cognition. White matter is composed of bundles, which connect various grey matter areas (the locations of nerve cell bodies) of the brain to each other, and carry nerve impulses between neurons.
Medical Definition of White matter. White matter definition, nerve tissue, especially of the brain and spinal cord, which primarily contains myelinated fibers and is nearly white in color. This misnomer comes from health practitioners referring to it as such, but periventricular white matter is commonly occurring on the brain, and changes in this matter are common as people age 1.
2. pus. Periventricular White Matter Disease is not actually a disease. White matter definition is - neural tissue especially of the brain and spinal cord that consists largely of myelinated nerve fibers bundled into tracts, has a whitish color, and typically underlies the cortical gray matter.
White matter makes up 60 percent of the total brain volume, and can be identified in a scan from its white color, compared to gray matter. White matter is one of the two components of the central nervous system and consists mostly of glial cells and myelinated axons that transmit signals from one region of the cerebrum to another and between the cerebrum and lower brain centers. White matter is located in the central and subcortical regions of the cerebral and cerebellar hemisphere of the brain. Matter definition is - a subject under consideration. Tissue composed of myelinated fibers is called white matter. How to use matter in a sentence. matter [mat´er] 1. physical material having form and weight under ordinary conditions; called also substance.