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What are the main structures of the brain and what do they do?

The structure and function of the brain: the four lobes of the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum and the autonomic functions, and the role of the brainstem.

A focused answer to AQA GCSE Psychology 3.7, covering the main structures of the brain, including the four lobes of the cerebral cortex (frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital), the cerebellum and the brainstem, and their functions.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.88 min answer

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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  1. What this dot point is asking
  2. The four lobes of the cerebral cortex
  3. The cerebellum and brainstem
  4. Localisation: why structure matters
  5. Try this

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to name and describe the main structures of the brain, including the four lobes of the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum and the brainstem, and state what each one does. This is examined in Paper 2 (Social context and behaviour), where short knowledge questions and longer description items both appear, so you need to be able to give precise locations and functions, not just lists.

The four lobes of the cerebral cortex

  • Frontal lobe (front of the brain): thinking, decision-making, planning, reasoning and personality, plus control of voluntary movement through the motor area at the back of the lobe. The case of Phineas Gage, whose personality changed after an iron rod destroyed part of his frontal lobe, is the classic evidence that this region governs personality and self-control.
  • Parietal lobe (top, behind the frontal): processing sensory information such as touch, temperature, pain and body position, mainly through the somatosensory area at the front of the lobe.
  • Temporal lobe (side, near the ears): processing sound and involved in memory and the understanding of language. Wernicke's area, which is involved in understanding speech, sits here.
  • Occipital lobe (back of the brain): processing visual information arriving from the eyes via the optic nerve.

The cortex is divided into two hemispheres (left and right) joined by the corpus callosum. In most people language is lateralised to the left hemisphere.

The cerebellum and brainstem

Localisation: why structure matters

Knowing which structure does what is the basis of localisation of function, the idea that different parts of the brain have different, specific jobs. Evidence for localisation comes from brain-damaged patients: damage to the occipital lobe causes problems with vision, damage to the motor area of the frontal lobe causes problems with movement, and damage to the cerebellum causes clumsy, uncoordinated movement. This makes the structures more than a list to memorise: each prediction about damage follows logically from the function of the area involved.

Try this

Q1. Which lobe processes visual information? [1 mark]

  • Cue. The occipital lobe.

Q2. State two functions of the cerebellum. [2 marks]

  • Cue. Balance and coordinated (smooth, fine) movement.

Q3. Explain why damage to the brainstem is more dangerous than damage to a single lobe of the cortex. [3 marks]

  • Cue. The brainstem controls automatic functions essential for life (breathing, heart rate), so damage can be fatal; damage to one cortical lobe usually impairs only the function linked to that area.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

AQA 20194 marksOutline the function of the frontal lobe and the function of the occipital lobe. (Paper 2, Section C)
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This is a short knowledge item worth 4 marks, so AQA expects two clearly identified lobes with one developed function each (roughly 2 marks per lobe: one for naming the role, one for elaboration).

Frontal lobe. Responsible for higher mental functions such as thinking, planning, reasoning and decision-making, and for controlling voluntary movement through the motor area at the rear of the lobe. A worked sentence markers reward: "The frontal lobe plans and initiates voluntary movement, so damage to it can impair movement and decision-making."

Occipital lobe. Processes visual information arriving from the eyes via the optic nerve, so it is where the brain makes sense of what we see. Markers reward locating it at the back of the brain and linking it to vision specifically.

Markers credit accurate location plus function. They do not credit vague phrases such as "controls the body" without a named function.

AQA 20223 marksDescribe the role of the cerebellum. (Paper 2, Section C)
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A 3-mark Describe item rewards a clear statement of location plus two or three distinct points about function.

The cerebellum sits at the back of the brain, below the cerebral cortex. It coordinates voluntary movement so that actions are smooth and precise rather than jerky, it controls balance and posture, and it is involved in fine motor skills such as writing or playing an instrument. A useful exam example: a person with cerebellar damage may walk unsteadily and struggle with coordinated tasks like buttoning a shirt.

Markers reward three creditworthy points (location, coordination of movement, balance or fine motor control). They penalise confusing the cerebellum with the cerebrum.

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