The 3D Brain
Turn a real 3D brain in any direction and click any part to see what it is, where it sits, what it does and why it matters for mental health. It covers 88 structures in 15 systems, from the lobes of the cortex to the hypothalamic nuclei, the brainstem and all twelve cranial nerves.
Start here. This lesson gives you the map that the other lessons use. Click a part, or pick one from the list. Use X-ray to see inside, the Left and Right buttons to look at one hemisphere at a time, and the presets at the bottom of the model to jump to a system.
The brain's main regions
Every structure in the model belongs to one of these regions. Press "Show me" to light up a region on the model.
Games and flashcards
Use the 3D model to practice. "Find it" asks you to click a structure on the model; "Name it" lights one up and you choose its name.
🎯 Find it on the model
Ten rounds. The model shows the right answer if you miss.
🔦 Name it
A structure glows on the model. Pick its name.
Flashcards
Videos, reading and sources
▶ Watch
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: ThalamusNeuroscientifically Challenged · the relay station and its main nuclei
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: HypothalamusNeuroscientifically Challenged · a dozen nuclei that keep the body in balance
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: HippocampusNeuroscientifically Challenged · the memory circuit from entorhinal cortex onward
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: Basal GangliaNeuroscientifically Challenged · direct and indirect movement pathways
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: CerebellumNeuroscientifically Challenged · structure and motor control
- 2-Minute Neuroscience: AmygdalaNeuroscientifically Challenged · fear, emotion and memory
📖 Read (free)
- Brain Basics: Know Your BrainNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH)
- Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 13.2: The Central Nervous SystemOpenStax, free open textbook
- Neuroscience, 2nd edition (Purves et al.)NCBI Bookshelf, searchable free textbook
- BrainFacts.org 3D BrainSociety for Neuroscience, another 3D brain to compare
- All 2-Minute Neuroscience lessonsShort videos on most structures in this model
📚 Books to go further
- Your Brain, ExplainedMarc Dingman (2019). A plain-language tour of brain structures and what they do, by the creator of 2-Minute Neuroscience.
- The Tell-Tale BrainV. S. Ramachandran (2011). Case stories that show what happens when specific brain areas are damaged.
- Neuroscience: Exploring the BrainBear, Connors and Paradiso. A widely used undergraduate textbook with clear anatomy chapters.