white matter

VUMC scientists record powerful signal in the brain’s white matter

Vanderbilt researchers report that when people who are having their brains scanned by fMRI perform a task, like wiggling their fingers, certain signals increase in white matter throughout the brain, which has long been thought to play a lesser role the more the brain’s more energetic gray matter.

Tracking the aging brain

The macrostructure — volume, area and length — of the brain’s white matter is useful for studying aging and could be a sensitive marker for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Vanderbilt researchers reported.

White matter and psychosis

The microstructure of white matter in the brain could be an important risk marker for psychosis, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

The power of white matter

Using a novel analysis of fMRI data, Vanderbilt researchers discovered intriguing patterns of signals in the brain’s white matter, the “conduit” for relaying signals between different brain regions.