New Delhi: Spinal cord injuries, infection and inflammation can lead to immense pain and disability. For this, some ways can help in recovery. But how to stimulate the regrowth and healing of damaged nerves. In a recent study, researchers at Vanderbilt University have made a surprising revelation about the role of white matter in the function of the spinal cord. These findings may spike new scope for spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions.
The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which found that the white matter in the spinal cord produces robust signals in response to stimuli. This shows how only the gray matter plays an important role in processing sensory information.
For the study, the scientists have focused on the earlier understudied part of the brain and spinal cord called the white matter. As per their discoveries, their findings could lead to the treatments that restore nerve activity via the targeted delivery of electromagnetic stimuli or medications.
Spina cord and brain gray matter
The spinal cord is made up nerve cell bodies called gray matter that process sensation and control voluntary movement and axons those are called the white matter, fibers that connect nerve cells and which show the rest of the body.
In the spinal cord, the white matter signal is quite large and detectable, unlike in the brain where it has less amplitude than the gray matter, the researchers in the study noted. According to them, the major reason may be due to the larger volume of white matter in the spinal cord as compared to the brain. On the contrary, the signal could represent an intrinsic demand in metabolism within the white matter that reflects its critical role in supporting gray matter.
The result of the study is consitent with white matter’s known neurological function. While the white matter contains non-neuronal glial cells that do note produce electrical impulses but may regulate blood flow and neurotransmitters signalling that molecules transmit signals between nerve cells.
The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which found that the white matter in the spinal cord produces robust signals in response to stimuli. This shows how only the gray matter plays an important role in processing sensory information. Health Conditions Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
