List of regions in the human brain - Definition and Overview

Diencephalon

• epithalamus
  • pineal body
  • habenular nuclei
  • stria medullares
  • tenia thalami
• third ventricle
• thalamus
  • anterior nuclear group
    • anteroventral nucleus
    • anterodorsal nucleus
    • anteromedial nucleus
  • medial nuclear group
    • dorsomedial nucleus
    • midline nuclear group
      • paratenial nucleus
      • paraventricular nucleus
      • reuniens nucleus
      • rhomboidal nucleus
    • intralaminar nuclear group
      • centromedial nucleus
      • parafascicular nucleus
      • paracentral nucleus
      • central lateral nucleus
      • central medial nucleus
  • lateral nuclear group
    • lateral dorsal nucleus
    • lateral posterior nucleus
    • pulvinar
  • ventral nuclear group
    • ventral anterior nucleus
    • ventral lateral nucleus
    • ventral posterior nucleus
  • metathalamus
    • medial geniculate body
    • lateral geniculate body
  • thalamic reticular nucleus
• hypothalamus _{(limbic system) (HPA axis)}
  • optic chiasm
  • supraoptic region
  • infundibulum
  • tuber cinereum
  • tuberal region
  • mammillary bodies
  • mammillary region
• subthalamus_{(HPA axis)}
  • thalamic nucleus
  • zona incerta
• pituitary gland _{(HPA axis)}

Telencephalon (cerebrum)

red:frontal lobe orange:parietal lobe yellow:occipital lobe green: temporal lobe blue:cerebellum black:brainstem

• cerebral hemispheres
  • amygdala _{(limbic system) (limbic lobe) (paleopallium)}
    • central nucleus_{(autonomic nervous system)}
    • medial nucleus_{(accessory olfactory system)}
    • cortical and basomedial nuclei_{(main olfactory system)}
    • lateral and basolateral nuclei_{(frontotemporal cortical system)}
  • hippocampus _{(limbic system) (limbic lobe) (archipallium)}
    • dentate gyrus
  • basal ganglia
    • globus pallidus_{(archipallium)}
    • striatum
    • caudate nucleus
    • putamen
  • rhinencephalon _{(paleopallium)}
    • olfactory bulb
    • piriform cortex
    • anterior olfactory nucleus
    • olfactory tract
    • anterior commissure
  • lateral ventricles
  • cerebral cortex _(neopallium)
    • frontal lobe
      • precentral gyrus
        • Brodmann area 4 _{(Primary motor area)}
      • superior frontal gyrus
      • middle frontal gyrus
      • inferior frontal gyrus
      • Brodmann areas: 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 24, 25, 32, 33, 44, 45, 46, 47
    • temporal lobe
      • superior temporal gyrus
      • middle temporal gyrus
      • inferior temporal gyrus
      • fusiform gyrus
      • parahippocampal gyrus
      • Brodmann areas: 9, 20, 21, 22, 27, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42
    • parietal lobe
      • postcentral gyrus _{(Primary somesthetic area)}
      • precuneus
      • Brodmann areas 1, 2, 3 _{(Primary somesthetic area)}; 5, 7, 23, 26, 29, 31, 39, 40
    • occipital lobe
      • lateral occipital gyrus
      • cuneus
      • Brodmann_areas 17 _{(V1, primary visual cortex)}; 18, 19
    • insula
    • cingulate cortex
      • anterior cingulate
      • posterior cingulate
      • Brodmann_areas 23, 24; 26, 29, 30 _{(retrosplenial areas)}; 31, 32

Neural pathways

• arcuate fasciculus
• cerebral peduncle
• corpus callosum
• pyramidal or corticospinal tract

• Major dopamine pathways
  • mesocortical pathway
  • mesolimbic pathway
  • nigrostriatal pathway
  • tuberoinfundibular pathway

Cerebrospinal systems

Neuronal systems

• central nervous system
• peripheral nervous system
  • somatic nervous system
  • autonomic nervous system
    • sympathetic nervous system
    • parasympathetic nervous system

Cognitive systems

• sensory systems
  • olfactory system
    • primary olfactory cortex

Volitive systems

• motor system
  • extrapyramidal system
  • pyramidal tract
  • alpha system
  • gamma system

Nerves

• Spinal cord
• brain stem
  • cranial nerves
    • Olfactory nerve, (I)
    • Optic nerve (II)
    • Oculomotor nerve (III)
    • Trochlear nerve(IV)
    • Trigeminal nerve (V)
    • Abducens nerve (VI)
    • Facial nerve (VII)
    • Vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII)
    • Glossopharyngeal nerve (IX)
    • Vagus nerve (X)
    • Accessory nerve (XI)
    • Hypoglossal nerve (XII)

Neurocrine systems

• limbic system
• HPA axis

Vascular systems

• venous systems
• circle of Willis (arterial system)
• blood-brain barrier
• blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier

Dural meningeal system

• brain-cerebrospinal fluid barrier
• meningeal coverings
  • dura mater
  • pia mater
• epidural space
• subdural space
• arachnoid septum
• ventricular system
  • cerebrospinal fluid
    • subarachnoid space
      • third ventricle
      • fourth ventricle
      • lateral ventricles
        • Anterior horn
        • Body of lateral ventricle
        • Inferior horn
        • Posterior horn
      • superior cistern
      • cistern of lamina terminalis
      • chaismatic cistern
      • interpeduncular cistern
      • pontine cistern
      • cerebromedullary cistern
    • spinal subarachnoid space

Organization

Anatomical regions are listed vertically beneath Brain according to typical hierarchies. Functional, connective and developmental regions are listed horizontally in _{(italicized subscript)}.

Functional and connective regions defined as systems are categorized at cerebrospinal systems.

Related topic

Human brain