Grey matter is the neural cells of the brain. White matter is the axon fat which surrounds the nerves in sheaths for protection. Grey matter can also be spelt Gray matter and the name comes from the simple appearance and the colour of the brain's lobes.
meninges
The human brain has four lobes of the cerebral cortex. Each lobe in the human brain is named from the bone that covers the lobe.
The thin layer of gray matter on the surface of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex. It plays a crucial role in functions such as memory, attention, perception, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. The cerebral cortex is highly convoluted to increase the surface area and allow for more complex processing.
The few islands of gray matter within the interior of the cerebrum are made up of neuron cell bodies and unmyelinated axons. These areas of gray matter act as the central processing unit of the brain. Many things can affect this gray matter, such as, smoking, child abuse, alcoholism, and drugs.
The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of thecerebrum, it is composed of six cell layers of deeply folded and ridged gray matter.
Grey matter is distributed at the surface of the cerebral hemispheres (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 nuclei, cranial nerve nuclei) and spinal grey matter (anterior horn, lateral horn, posterior horn).
gray matter
Two types of matter in the brain are gray matter, which contains cell bodies and synapses, and white matter, which contains myelinated axons connecting different parts of the brain. Gray matter is mostly found in the cerebral cortex, while white matter is found deeper in the brain.
The gray matter of the cerebral cortex contains mostly cell bodies of neurons, along with dendrites, synapses, and glial cells. It is responsible for processing and integrating sensory information, as well as higher cognitive functions such as decision-making, reasoning, and memory.
Gray matter consists of cell bodies and unmyelinated axons, while white matter consists of myelinated axons. In the cerebral hemispheres, gray matter is found on the outer cortex and is involved in processing information, while white matter is found deeper in the brain and is responsible for transmitting signals between different brain regions. The arrangement in the cerebral hemispheres is such that gray matter forms the outer layer, while white matter is located underneath, connecting different parts of the brain.
Gray matter in the cerebrum is located in the cerebral cortex and in the deeper basal nuclei, and the white matter lies deep to the neural cortex and around the basal nuclei (Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, Martini & Nath, 2009, p. 480).The central area of the spinal cord is gray matter, and the outer surface of much of the brain consist of gray matter called cortex. (Anatomy and Physiology, Seeley Stephens Tate, 2008, p. 382)
Cerebral cortex.