Nerve insulation
Myelin / oligodendrocyte
Also searched as Myelin / oligodendrocyte.
You want it maintained: intact myelin underpins quick thinking, coordination and cognitive endurance.
In depth
The lipid sheath that insulates nerve fibers, setting the speed and precision of neural signaling.
What drives it
Sleep pressure increases it.
Stevens 2002, Neuron 36:855 — adenosine (via A1 receptors) promotes oligodendrocyte precursor maturation and CNS myelination in response to axonal activity. doi 10.1016/S0896-6273(02
Neuronal overexcitation reduces it.
Oligodendrocytes and the myelin they maintain are damaged by the same calcium-driven injury that kills neurons. doi 10.1186/s40035-021-00278-7 · PMC8788129
What it drives
It increases Memory & focus.
Fields 2008, Trends Neurosci — myelin regulates the velocity and synchrony of axonal conduction between cortical regions, supporting information processing, learning and cognition. PMC2486416
It increases Sharpens attention.
In diffuse areas of frontal and parietal white matter, especially the anterior corpus callosum, fractional anisotropy values correlated negatively with reaction time. PMC3503892 Measured as white-matter integrity on diffusion imaging (DTI), an indirect proxy for myelin. PMC3503892
It increases Hand-eye coordination.
WM integrity supports the communication among cortical networks, particularly those involving executive function, perceptual speed, and memory (i.e., fluid cognition). PMC3503892 Measured as white-matter integrity on diffusion imaging (DTI), an indirect proxy for myelin. PMC3503892
It increases Processing speed.
10.1177/20552173261446217 — In diffuse areas of frontal and parietal white matter, especially the anterior corpus callosum, fractional anisotropy values correlated negatively with reaction time. PMC3503892 Measured as white-matter integrity on diffusion imaging (DTI), an indirect proxy for myelin. doi 10.1177/20552173261446217 · PMC3503892
Blends that modulate it
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See it on the map
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