How the Brain Works

Everyday abilities are rarely the job of one region. Each topic follows one ability across the brain regions that share the work, with the landmark studies that revealed how it works.

How Memory Works

What part of the brain controls memory?

No single part of the brain stores memories. Learn how the hippocampus, cortex, amygdala, and other regions share the work of forming, keeping, and recalling different kinds of memory.

Read the full article on memory →
Side view: Outer surface of the left hemisphere, front of the head to the left. Dashed outlines show deep structures as if seen through the surface. Highlighted: Frontal Lobe, Hippocampus, Temporal Lobe, Amygdala, Thalamus, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum.

Side view

Midline view: Inner surface of the left hemisphere, as if the brain were sliced down the middle, front of the head to the left. Highlighted: Frontal Lobe, Hippocampus, Temporal Lobe, Amygdala, Thalamus, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum.

Midline view

How Emotions Work in the Brain

What part of the brain controls emotions?

Emotions aren't produced by one 'emotion centre'. See how the amygdala, hypothalamus, insula, cingulate cortex, and frontal lobe work together to detect, feel, and regulate emotion.

Read the full article on emotion →
Side view: Outer surface of the left hemisphere, front of the head to the left. Dashed outlines show deep structures as if seen through the surface. Highlighted: Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Insula, Cingulate Cortex, Frontal Lobe, Basal Ganglia, Hippocampus.

Side view

Midline view: Inner surface of the left hemisphere, as if the brain were sliced down the middle, front of the head to the left. Highlighted: Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Insula, Cingulate Cortex, Frontal Lobe, Basal Ganglia, Hippocampus.

Midline view

How Vision Works: From Eye to Brain

What part of the brain controls vision?

Seeing happens in the brain, not just the eyes. Follow visual signals from the retina through the thalamus to the occipital lobe, then along separate pathways for recognising objects and guiding action.

Read the full article on vision →
Side view: Outer surface of the left hemisphere, front of the head to the left. Dashed outlines show deep structures as if seen through the surface. Highlighted: Thalamus, Occipital Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Brain Stem.

Side view

Midline view: Inner surface of the left hemisphere, as if the brain were sliced down the middle, front of the head to the left. Highlighted: Thalamus, Occipital Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Brain Stem.

Midline view

How the Brain Processes Language

What part of the brain controls speech and language?

Language depends on a network centred on the left hemisphere, not just Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Learn how the brain understands, produces, reads, and signs language.

Read the full article on language →
Side view: Outer surface of the left hemisphere, front of the head to the left. Dashed outlines show deep structures as if seen through the surface. Highlighted: Temporal Lobe, Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Corpus Callosum.

Side view

Midline view: Inner surface of the left hemisphere, as if the brain were sliced down the middle, front of the head to the left. Highlighted: Temporal Lobe, Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Corpus Callosum.

Midline view

How the Brain Controls Movement

What part of the brain controls movement?

Even picking up a cup involves planning, selecting, executing, and correcting a movement. See how the frontal lobe, basal ganglia, cerebellum, parietal lobe, and brain stem share the job.

Read the full article on movement →
Side view: Outer surface of the left hemisphere, front of the head to the left. Dashed outlines show deep structures as if seen through the surface. Highlighted: Frontal Lobe, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum, Parietal Lobe, Brain Stem.

Side view

Midline view: Inner surface of the left hemisphere, as if the brain were sliced down the middle, front of the head to the left. Highlighted: Frontal Lobe, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum, Parietal Lobe, Brain Stem.

Midline view

Looking for the difference between two easily confused things, like the hippocampus and amygdala, or dementia and Alzheimer's? See our comparisons.