2-Minute Neuroscience: Spinal Cord Cross-section Video Lecture | A-Z Guide to Neuroscience - Personal Learning

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I
simplistically explain neuroscience topics
in 2 minutes or less.
In this installment I will discuss the spinal
cord in cross-section.
When you look at the spinal cord in cross-section
at any level you will see a butterfly-shaped
region of grey matter surrounded by white
matter.
The grey matter is made up of the cell bodies
of neurons while the white matter consists
of axons that travel up the spinal cord to
the brain and down the spinal cord to the
body.
There is a small groove called the posterolateral
sulcus where dorsal roots enter the cord carrying
sensory information.
There is another groove that is not very distinct
on the front of the cord called the anterolateral
sulcus.
Ventral roots leave the cord from the anterolateral
sulcus to carry motor information to the muscles.
The grey matter is divided into three regions.
The posterior horn contains interneurons that
make connections within the spinal cord and
neurons that enter ascending pathways carrying
sensory information to the brain.
There is a section of the posterior horn called
the substantia gelatinosa that contains neurons
that specifically carry pain and temperature
sensations to the brain.
The anterior horn contains the cell bodies
of motor neurons that activate skeletal muscle.
These neurons, called alpha motor neurons,
leave the cord in the ventral roots and represent
the way the nervous system enacts voluntary
and involuntary movements.
The intermediate grey matter has some characteristics
of the areas surrounding it, but it also contains
neurons involved in autonomic functions, or
functions that are automatic and occur without
conscious control like heart rate and respiration
The white matter of the spinal cord consists
of bundles of ascending and descending fibers
that carry sensory information to the brain
and motor information to the body, respectively.
These bundles of fibers are called funiculi.
The back of the spinal cord contains the posterior
funiculi, which contain important pathways
that carry information about touch and limb
position to the brain.
The lateral funiculi are found in the lateral
portion of the cord; important pain pathways
are found here as well as important descending
pathways that are responsible for causing
movement.
The anterior funiculi contain various ascending
and descending pathways.