3D Brain Explorer: Neuroanatomy for Psychopharmacology

What it shows

The 3D Brain Explorer is an interactive model of the brain structures most relevant to psychopharmacology. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, and click a structure to open a panel with its full name, its main neurotransmitter system, why it matters clinically, and how it is represented on the model. A small locator diagram shows where the structure sits in a lateral, sagittal, or axial view. You can hide the brain shell, toggle context structures, reset the view, or turn on auto-rotate.

Structures included

• Cortical: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex
• Limbic: amygdala, hippocampus
• Dopaminergic: nucleus accumbens and ventral striatum, dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen)
• Thalamic: mediodorsal thalamus
• Brainstem nuclei: VTA and substantia nigra pars compacta, raphe nuclei, locus coeruleus
• Classic lesion sites: Broca's area, Wernicke's area, corpus callosum

Each entry ties anatomy to treatment. Examples from the tool: the left DLPFC as the standard rTMS target for depression, D2 blockade in the dorsal striatum as the site of extrapyramidal side effects and tardive dyskinesia, and 5-HT1A autoreceptor desensitization in the raphe over 2–4 weeks as an explanation for the delayed effect of SSRIs.

Linked sections

For most structures, buttons jump to the related circuit in Classic Neuropsychiatric Circuits (such as the DLPFC executive loop, the mesolimbic reward circuit, or the motor circuit) or to the matching brain-region entry, so the 3D view connects to the longer written reference.

Model source and limitations

The 3D models come from the SPL-PNL Brain Atlas (Surgical Planning Laboratory and Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard), used under the 3D Slicer license. Most structures are expert-segmented meshes. The raphe nuclei, locus coeruleus, and VTA are shown as bilateral markers, and Broca's area, Wernicke's area, and the corpus callosum are schematic teaching placements rather than segmented anatomy. A browser with WebGL support is required.