After wading through a sea of information, I understand the main differences between the white matter and grey matter of the spinal cord.
I know that white matter contains myelinated axons in the ascending and descending nerve tracts from the brain to the spinal cord. I know that grey matter contains somata which contribute to sensory and motor functions from and to the peripheral nerve fibers.
With the differences in mind, I am confused about the relationship between the two.
The main question being: What signaling, if any, takes place between the myelinated axons of white matter and the somata of grey matter? More pointedly, do the myelinated axons from the nerve tracts in white matter ever synapse with dendrites from somata in grey matter?
My guess is yes, that this is a key aspect in how the brain and the spinal cord communicate. But I haven’t yet found any definitive source that addresses this question directly.