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Brain Anatomy Quiz

Fifteen questions on the lobes, the language areas, the brainstem and the cranial nerves. Front of the brain faces left on every diagram. Tap an answer to see if you’re right.

  1. Question 1 of 15

    Name the highlighted lobe.

    Brain, left side
    1. Temporal lobe
    2. Occipital lobe
    3. Parietal lobe
    4. Frontal lobe
    Show answer

    Answer: Frontal lobe. The biggest lobe: planning, judgement, personality and voluntary movement. It sits behind your forehead.

  2. Question 2 of 15

    Name the highlighted lobe.

    Brain, left side
    1. Occipital lobe
    2. Cerebellum
    3. Parietal lobe
    4. Temporal lobe
    Show answer

    Answer: Occipital lobe. Home of the primary visual cortex. A stroke here can wipe out half the visual field in both eyes.

  3. Question 3 of 15

    Name the highlighted lobe.

    Brain, left side
    1. Frontal lobe
    2. Occipital lobe
    3. Temporal lobe
    4. Parietal lobe
    Show answer

    Answer: Temporal lobe. Hearing, understanding language and memory. The hippocampus is tucked deep inside it.

  4. Question 4 of 15

    Name the highlighted lobe.

    Brain, left side
    1. Temporal lobe
    2. Parietal lobe
    3. Occipital lobe
    4. Frontal lobe
    Show answer

    Answer: Parietal lobe. Touch, body position and where things are in space. Right-sided damage can make people ignore the left side of the world (neglect).

  5. Question 5 of 15

    Name the highlighted structure.

    Brain, left side
    1. Occipital lobe
    2. Cerebellum
    3. Pons
    4. Brainstem
    Show answer

    Answer: Cerebellum. The ‘little brain’ coordinates movement and balance. It holds most of the brain’s neurons, despite its size.

  6. Question 6 of 15

    Name the highlighted structure, which controls breathing and heart rate.

    Brain, left side
    1. Brainstem
    2. Hypothalamus
    3. Cerebellum
    4. Spinal cord
    Show answer

    Answer: Brainstem. Midbrain, pons and medulla: breathing, heart rate and wakefulness, plus the nuclei of cranial nerves III to XII.

  7. Question 7 of 15

    Damage to the highlighted area leaves someone understanding speech but struggling to get words out. What is it?

    Brain, left side
    1. Primary motor cortex
    2. Primary visual cortex
    3. Wernicke’s area
    4. Broca’s area
    Show answer

    Answer: Broca’s area. Broca’s area, in the frontal lobe of the dominant (usually left) hemisphere. Damage causes expressive aphasia: halting, effortful speech.

  8. Question 8 of 15

    Damage to the highlighted area causes fluent speech that makes little sense, with poor understanding. What is it?

    Brain, left side
    1. Angular gyrus
    2. Primary auditory cortex
    3. Wernicke’s area
    4. Broca’s area
    Show answer

    Answer: Wernicke’s area. Wernicke’s area, at the back of the superior temporal gyrus. Damage causes receptive aphasia: plenty of words, not much meaning.

  9. Question 9 of 15

    Name the highlighted strip just in front of the central sulcus.

    Brain, left side
    1. Broca’s area
    2. Primary sensory cortex (postcentral gyrus)
    3. Prefrontal cortex
    4. Primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus)
    Show answer

    Answer: Primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus). The precentral gyrus sends movement commands down the spinal cord. A stroke here weakens the opposite side of the body.

  10. Question 10 of 15

    How many pairs of cranial nerves are there?

    1. 12
    2. 8
    3. 10
    4. 31
    Show answer

    Answer: 12. Twelve pairs, numbered I (olfactory) to XII (hypoglossal). The 31 pairs are spinal nerves.

  11. Question 11 of 15

    Which cranial nerve moves the muscles of facial expression?

    1. Hypoglossal nerve (XII)
    2. Facial nerve (VII)
    3. Trigeminal nerve (V)
    4. Glossopharyngeal nerve (IX)
    Show answer

    Answer: Facial nerve (VII). The facial nerve, the one affected in Bell’s palsy. The trigeminal handles facial sensation and chewing muscles instead.

  12. Question 12 of 15

    From the skull inwards, what order are the meninges in?

    1. Dura, pia, arachnoid
    2. Pia, arachnoid, dura
    3. Dura, arachnoid, pia
    4. Arachnoid, dura, pia
    Show answer

    Answer: Dura, arachnoid, pia. Tough dura mater on the outside, cobwebby arachnoid in the middle, delicate pia stuck to the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid flows under the arachnoid.

  13. Question 13 of 15

    Which band of nerve fibres connects the left and right hemispheres?

    1. Fornix
    2. Corpus callosum
    3. Internal capsule
    4. Pons
    Show answer

    Answer: Corpus callosum. The corpus callosum, the largest bundle of white matter in the brain, with around 200 million fibres.

  14. Question 14 of 15

    Where is most cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) made?

    1. Arachnoid granulations
    2. Dural venous sinuses
    3. Choroid plexus
    4. Pineal gland
    Show answer

    Answer: Choroid plexus. The choroid plexus in the ventricles makes about 500 mL a day. Arachnoid granulations drain it back into the blood.

  15. Question 15 of 15

    Parkinson’s disease involves loss of dopamine-making neurons in which area?

    1. Cerebellum
    2. Caudate nucleus
    3. Hippocampus
    4. Substantia nigra
    Show answer

    Answer: Substantia nigra. The substantia nigra (‘black substance’) in the midbrain. Losing its dopamine supply to the basal ganglia causes slowness, stiffness and tremor.

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Common questions

What are the 12 cranial nerves?

In order: I olfactory (smell), II optic (vision), III oculomotor (most eye movements, pupil), IV trochlear (superior oblique), V trigeminal (facial sensation, chewing), VI abducens (lateral rectus), VII facial (facial expression, taste), VIII vestibulocochlear (hearing, balance), IX glossopharyngeal (swallowing, taste), X vagus (heart, gut, voice), XI accessory (sternocleidomastoid, trapezius) and XII hypoglossal (tongue).

What are the four lobes of the brain?

Frontal (planning, personality, movement), parietal (touch, body position, spatial awareness), temporal (hearing, language, memory) and occipital (vision). Each hemisphere has all four. The cerebellum and brainstem sit underneath and aren’t lobes.

What does the cerebellum do?

It fine-tunes movement, balance, posture and timing, and helps with learning motor skills. Damage causes clumsiness, an unsteady wide-based walk, slurred speech and a tremor that gets worse as the hand nears a target.

How do I learn brain anatomy fast?

Start with the big picture (lobes, cerebellum, brainstem), then add function to each part, then the cranial nerves. Draw it from memory, use mnemonics, and test yourself often: short quizzes beat rereading notes.

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Reviewed 8 November 2026 by a Malady Wise GP. Diagrams are simplified, original sketches, not to scale. General education, not personal medical advice.