The brain, explained 🧠

Key brain regions at a glance

Each region does specific jobs - and can be affected in distinct ways after injury or illness. Tap any card to learn more.

• 🧭

  Frontal lobe

  Planning, movement & personality

  The largest lobe, right behind your forehead. It's the brain's 'director' - setting goals, organising steps, and starting the movements to carry them out. The motor strip at its back edge controls the opposite side of the body.

  • ✓ Planning, decisions, and problem-solving
  • ✓ Starting and controlling movement
  • ✓ Attention, motivation, and self-control
  • ✓ Personality and much of speech production

  If affected: Changes in planning, motivation, attention, movement, or word-finding are common - and often improve with targeted, repeated practice.

  • Attention after brain injury→
  • What is aphasia?→
  • Occupational therapy→
• ✋

  Parietal lobe

  Touch, space & attention

  Sitting near the top and back of the brain, the parietal lobe builds a map of your body and the space around you, blending touch with what you see so you can reach, grasp, and navigate.

  • ✓ Touch, temperature, and body position
  • ✓ Sense of space and where things are
  • ✓ Hand-eye coordination
  • ✓ Parts of reading and number sense

  If affected: Difficulty judging space, ignoring one side (neglect), or coordinating reach can occur - scanning and reaching strategies help.

  • Visual neglect after stroke→
  • Regaining hand function→
• 👂

  Temporal lobe

  Hearing, language & memory

  Tucked by your temples and ears, the temporal lobe turns sound into meaning and, deep inside, holds the hippocampus - the brain's memory-maker.

  • ✓ Hearing and making sense of sound
  • ✓ Understanding spoken language
  • ✓ Forming and recalling memories
  • ✓ Recognising faces and objects

  If affected: Trouble understanding speech, remembering new things, or recognising faces can appear - memory aids and communication strategies help day to day.

  • Managing memory changes→
  • Communication strategies→
  • Speech therapy→
• 👁️

  Occipital lobe

  Vision

  At the very back of the brain, the occipital lobe is the visual cortex - it takes the raw signals from your eyes and turns them into the scene you experience.

  • ✓ Processing what the eyes see
  • ✓ Colour, shape, and motion
  • ✓ Recognising the visual world

  If affected: Gaps in the field of vision or trouble making sense of what's seen can occur - vision-aware scanning and rehab can help the brain adapt.

  • Visual neglect after stroke→
  • Tell them apart→
• 🤸

  Cerebellum

  Balance & smooth movement

  The 'little brain' at the back-bottom. It doesn't start movement, but it fine-tunes it - making actions smooth, balanced, and well-timed, and helping you learn new motor skills.

  • ✓ Balance and coordination
  • ✓ Smooth, accurate movement
  • ✓ Timing and motor learning

  If affected: Unsteady walking, clumsy or shaky movement (ataxia), and balance problems can occur - balance and coordination training help.

  • Gait & balance training→
  • Fall prevention at home→
  • Physiotherapy→
• 🌿

  Brainstem

  Life-support & relay

  The stalk connecting the brain to the spinal cord. It quietly runs the essentials - breathing, heartbeat, and swallowing - and carries every message between the brain and the rest of you.

  • ✓ Breathing and heart rate
  • ✓ Sleep and alertness
  • ✓ Swallowing and eye movements
  • ✓ Relaying signals between brain and body

  If affected: Swallowing, balance, or alertness can be affected - specialist rehab supports safe eating and daily function.

  • Swallowing difficulties→
  • Swallowing therapy→

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