Which parts of the neuron make up grey matter, and why does it use most of the brain's energy? · Grey Matter

Grey matter holds the neuron's cell bodies, its branching dendrites with their synapses, and the local unmyelinated stretches of axons, packed among glial cells and capillaries.


Which parts of the neuron make up grey matter, and why does it use most of the brain's energy?

Grey matter holds the neuron's cell bodies, its branching dendrites with their synapses, and the local unmyelinated stretches of axons, packed among glial cells and capillaries. Without much myelin it lacks the pale fat of white matter and looks grey in a preserved brain. Synaptic transmission and the ion pumping that follows every signal happen mostly here, so grey matter uses several times more energy per gram than white matter and is the first to suffer when blood flow falls.