Definition

Periventricular leukomalacia is a brain condition affecting fetuses and newborns in which there is softening, dysfunction, and death of the white matter of the brain.

Description

The brain is composed of outer gray matter and inner white matter. The gray matter is responsible for processing information involved in muscle control, sensory perception, emotion, and memory. The white matter is responsible for transmitting information throughout the brain, to the spinal cord, and outside of the brain to the muscles. The ventricles are four cavities within the brain, all of which are interconnected with each other and with the central spinal canal, and through which the cerebrospinal fluid circulates. "Periventricular" refers to the white matter that surrounds the ventricles. "Leukomalacia" means softening of the white tissue. When the white matter softens, the brain tissue begins to die.