White matter: The brain's flexible but underrated superhighway
Published Wednesday 16 August 2017
By Tim Newman
Cross section of brain and wiring
Does white matter matter?
Historically, gray matter was typically considered the brain's organ grinder, and white matter was just the monkey. But in recent years, it has become clear that the monkey is just as important as its master.
Our exquisitely folded gray matter has long been the show pony of the brain; it deals with the heavy number-crunching we all rely on to make sense of the world. The white matter, it was thought, simply carries out the task of relaying messages back and forth, as little more than a collection of passive wires.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318966.php
