White matter

From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

White matter is the commonly used name for the long, myelinated fibers that make up the connecting tissue of the nervous tissue. It is the way that all brain cells communicate with cells in different parts of the nervous system. They are neural axons that cover a distance long enough that myelin is needed to speed up conduction times and keep the axon structure from disintegrating (this is what happens in multiple sclerosis).