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Brain structures: the 30 most written about

Cerebellum, Hypothalamus, Cerebrum and 27 more, ranked by how much of the world has written about each one.

Entries
30
Photographed
28
Fetched
2026-09-26
Cerebellum
Cerebellum · Structure at the rear of the vertebrate brain, beneath the cerebrum · Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB)., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

Brain structures, ranked

Most written-about first. Each description summarises the structure's Wikipedia article, which its name links to.

  1. Cerebellum 1

    Cerebellum

    Structure at the rear of the vertebrate brain, beneath the cerebrum

    A major part of the hindbrain in every vertebrate. It is usually smaller than the cerebrum, but in some animals, the mormyrid fishes among them, it can match it in size or even exceed it.

    Wikidata · Photo: Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB)., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

  5. Hippocampus 5

    Hippocampus

    Vertebrate brain region

    Also called the hippocampus proper, a major part of the brain in humans and many other vertebrates. In humans, together with the subiculum and the dentate gyrus, it makes up the hippocampal formation, which lies in the limbic system.

    Wikidata · Photo: Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain

  6. Thalamus 6

    Thalamus

    Structure within the brain

    A large mass of grey matter forming the dorsal part of the diencephalon, on the side wall of the third ventricle. Nerve fibres run from it to the cerebral cortex in every direction, the thalamocortical radiations, letting it exchange information like a hub.

    Wikidata · Photo: Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB)., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

  8. Brainstem 8

    Brainstem

    Posterior part of the brain, adjoining and structurally continuous

    The stalk-shaped rear part of the brain, linking the cerebrum to the spinal cord. In humans it is made up of the medulla oblongata, the pons and the midbrain.

    Wikidata · Photo: Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain

  9. Cerebral cortex 9

    Cerebral cortex

    Outer layer of the cerebrum of the mammalian brain

    Also called the cerebral mantle, the outer layer of nerve tissue of the cerebrum in humans and other mammals. It is the central nervous system's largest site of neural integration, and is central to consciousness, language, memory, thought, awareness, perception and attention.

    Wikidata · Photo: US Government, Public domain

  11. Limbic system 11

    Limbic system

    Set of brain structures involved in emotion and motivation

    Also called the paleomammalian cortex, a set of brain structures that take part in motivation and in processing emotion, in humans and in many other animals. In the human brain it lies on either side of the thalamus, just under the cerebrum's medial temporal lobe, mainly in the forebrain.

    Wikidata · Photo: BruceBlaus . When using this image in external sources it can be cited as: Blausen.com staff (2014). " Medical gallery…, CC BY 3.0

  15. Grey matter 15

    Grey matter

    Areas of neuronal cell bodies in the brain

    A major part of the central nervous system, containing neuronal cell bodies, glial cells, neuropil, capillaries and synapses. It differs from white matter in having many cell bodies and relatively few myelinated axons; white matter has relatively few cell bodies and consists mostly of long-range myelinated axons.

    Wikidata · Photo: John A Beal , PhD Dep't. of Cellular Biology & Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, CC BY 2.5

  18. Corpus callosum 18

    Corpus callosum

    White matter tract connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

    Also called the callosal commissure, a broad, thick nerve tract in the human brain, a flat bundle of commissural fibres below the cerebral cortex. It is found in placental mammals and is linked with handedness and laterality.

    Wikidata · Photo: Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB)., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

  19. 19

    White matter

    Areas of myelinated axons in the brain

    The parts of the central nervous system made up mainly of myelinated axons, also called tracts. Long seen as passive tissue, it affects learning and brain function: it shapes how action potentials are distributed, relays signals and coordinates how different brain regions communicate.

    Wikidata

  20. Basal ganglia 20

    Basal ganglia

    Group of subcortical nuclei involved in the motor and reward systems

    Abbreviated BG, and also called the basal nuclei: a group of nuclei beneath the cortex in the brains of vertebrates. Set at the forebrain's base and the midbrain's top, they are strongly connected with the cerebral cortex, the thalamus, the brainstem and other parts of the brain.

    Wikidata · Photo: Mikael Häggström and Andrew Gillies, CC BY-SA 3.0

  22. Forebrain 22

    Forebrain

    Forward-most portion of the brain

    Also called the prosencephalon, the rostral, or forward-most, part of the vertebrate brain. It controls eating, sleeping, reproductive functions, body temperature and the showing of emotions.

    Wikidata · Photo: Nrets , vector conversion by Surachit, CC BY-SA 3.0

  23. Substantia nigra 23

    Substantia nigra

    Structure in the basal ganglia of the brain

    A structure of the basal ganglia, in the midbrain, with an important part in movement and reward. Its name, Latin for "black substance", reflects that parts of it look darker than the areas around them, because of the high level of neuromelanin in its dopaminergic neurons.

    Wikidata · Photo: FrozenMan, CC BY-SA 4.0

  24. Ventricular system 24

    Ventricular system

    Cavities within the human brain

    In neuroanatomy, four connected cavities in the brain, the cerebral ventricles. Each holds a region of choroid plexus, which makes the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that circulates through them.

    Wikidata · Photo: BodyParts3D [1] by DBCLS., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

  25. Hindbrain 25

    Hindbrain

    Part of the embryonic brain

    Also called the rhombencephalon, a developmental grouping of parts of the vertebrate central nervous system, taking in the cerebellum, the pons and the medulla.

    Wikidata · Photo: Nrets , vector conversion by Surachit, CC BY-SA 3.0

  26. Prefrontal cortex 26

    Prefrontal cortex

    Part of the brain responsible for personality, decision-making, and social behavior

    In mammalian brain anatomy, the region (PFC) at the front of the human brain's frontal lobe, and the frontal lobe's association cortex.

    Wikidata · Photo: Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain

  27. Neocortex 27

    Neocortex

    Mammalian structure involved in higher-order brain functions

    Also called the neopallium, isocortex or six-layered cortex: layers of the cerebral cortex of mammals that take part in higher brain functions such as language, spatial reasoning, the generation of motor commands, cognition and sensory perception. It is divided further into the proisocortex and the true isocortex.

    Wikidata · Photo: Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain

  28. Striatum 28

    Striatum

    Nucleus in the basal ganglia of the brain

    Also called the corpus striatum, a cluster of connected nuclei forming the largest structure of the basal ganglia beneath the cortex. A critical part of the reward and motor systems, it receives dopaminergic and glutamatergic input from different sources and is the main route by which signals enter the other basal ganglia.

    Wikidata · Photo: Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB)., CC BY-SA 2.1 jp

  29. 29

    Posterior pituitary

    Posterior lobe of the pituitary gland

    The rear lobe of the pituitary gland, which belongs to the endocrine system. It is not glandular, as the anterior pituitary is: it is mostly a collection of axons projecting from the hypothalamus, ending behind the anterior pituitary, where neurohypophysial hormones are released straight into the blood.

    Wikidata

  30. Nucleus accumbens 30

    Nucleus accumbens

    Region of the basal forebrain

    A region of the basal forebrain, rostral to the hypothalamus's preoptic area. Together with the olfactory tubercle it forms the ventral striatum.

    Wikidata · Photo: Mavridis IN, CC BY 3.0

How this list was made

Every Wikidata item that is a brain region, or is part of the brain — directly, or as part of a part of it, and that has its own English Wikipedia article, ranked by the number of Wikimedia sites with a page about it — Wikipedia's language editions, mostly, and sister projects such as Wikiquote. That counts how many communities independently thought it worth describing, and nobody can buy a place on it. The top 30 are shown.

Removed by hand

Wikidata files these under this list's query, but they are not what the list is about:

  • gyrus — A kind of fold, of which the brain's surface has many — not one structure.

Fetched from Wikidata on 2026-09-26. Each description is this site's summary of the entry's Wikipedia article, which its name links to: the wording is ours, the facts are Wikipedia's, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. To correct an entry, correct it there; the next refresh carries the change.

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