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white matter

white matter

7 5.0
Tissue in the brain and spinal cord that carries messages between different brain areas
  • noun
  • /waɪt ˈmætər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : materia blanca
  • There is considerable, if not overwhelming, evidence that the presence of white matter disease significantly contributes to executive dysfunction.
  • cerebral white matter
  • white matter disease
  • white matter tracts

So fibrinogen might play a role in this formation of white matter disease.

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Examples

  • And even a little bit of alcohol has been shown to disrupt the white matter in your brain.

  • The brain also has glial cells and white matter.

    Academic text (2010)
  • And here is the brain of an individual who had white matter injury.

  • From top left to bottom right, examples of white matter changes.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The majority of these white matter changes are trivial.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The project will dramatically facilitate and promote future research into white matter structure and function.

    Blog text (11)
  • Neurologists have found changes in the structure of the white matter of the brain that correlate with vast amounts of musical practice.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Her brain also shows differences in white matter, the bundles of nerve fibers that connect one region.

    Blog text (21)
  • Increases in white matter were associated with improvements in EEG measurements and improved developmental gains.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The scientist explained how white matter plays a crucial role in transmitting signals between different regions of the brain.

Synonyms

substantia alba
vswhite matter
  • Specialized
7.7

Nervous tissue in the brain and spinal cord made of nerve fibers covered by a fatty layer

has identical meaning but uses the common English name instead

Surface Forms

white matter singular
white matters plural

Morphology

white + matter

The phrase is compositionally built from 'white' (a color) + 'matter' (a substance), so a learner who knows those words can infer it refers to a pale/white substance — in context, the substance in the brain or spinal cord. Although the full technical details (myelinated nerve fibers, signal transmission) are specialized, the core referent is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

White matter is named for how it looks: groups of nerve fibers are covered in a fatty, pale layer so this part of the brain looks white next to the darker 'grey matter'. Because these groups help 'send signals' between brain areas, the term now means the brain tissue that moves messages around.