White Matter and Learning in the Brain (Transcripts & Audio)

Brief Description:

The brain is composed of two different types of tissue: gray matter and white matter. Traditionally, neuroscientists who have studied learning and memory have focused their attention on synaptic processes between neurons (found in gray matter) and consequently have largely ignored the role that glia and axons (found in white matter) play in facilitating learning and memory processes. Research funded by National Institutes of Child and Health Development (NICHD) demonstrates that white matter plays a more important role in learning may have previously been thought.