Q: What is the difference between the brain’s gray and white matter? I’m quite sure I do not know! 

A: Great question! The largest projection from a neuron or thinking cell is called the axon, by which information leaves the neuron to travel to other neurons. The right hemisphere contains more white matter. That is, it has more neuronal axons that are wrapped with a whitish insulation known as myelin—think fiberoptics. Reportedly, this insulation helps prevent electricity from leaking out and increases the speed at which messages fly along the neuronal highways. This also gives the right hemisphere it’s slightly pinkish-white color.

The left hemisphere of the brain contains more gray matter. Gray matter is brain tissue that has fewer of the neuronal axons wrapped with the whitish insulation known as myelin. This contributes to the slightly pinkish-gray color of the left hemisphere. Gray matter sends messages at a slower rate than white matter. Some estimates are that gray matter transmission speeds in the left hemisphere can reach approximately 273 mph, while white matter transmission speeds in the right hemisphere can reach 600 mph. Conventional wisdom has been that when it comes to brain health and brain function, gray matter (the neurons that form the cerebral or thinking cortex) is more important than white matter (the myelin covered axons that physically connect neuronal regions in the brain)—this perhaps because left-hemisphere functions are more valued in many industrial societies over right-hemisphere functions.