Brain quiz: Test your knowledge of the most complex organ in the body

Coloured sagittal MRI scans of a normal healthy head and neck. The scans start at the left of the body and move right through it. The eyes are seen as red circles, while the anatomy of the brain and spinal cord is best seen between them. The vertebrae of the neck and back are seen as blue blocks. The brain comprises paired hemispheres overlying the central limbic system. The cerebellum lies below the back of the hemispheres, behind the brainstem, which connects the brain to the spinal cord

Test your knowledge of the human brain! (Image credit: Science Photo Library/Getty Images)

Behold, the human brain: Often compared to a computer, the body's most complex organ operates using a code of electrical and chemical signals. These signals transmit through wires, nodes and networks to process and store information.

Through these operations, the brain directs our unconscious bodily functions, such as our appetites and levels of wakefulness, as well as "higher order" cognitive abilities — solving problems, generating ideas, planning for the future. The brain has inherent plasticity, meaning it dynamically responds to novel information and literally restructures itself to accommodate new memories and new interpretations of the world around us.

Scientists are still unraveling the brain's inner workings, but over the decades, they've learned quite a lot about what makes the organ tick. Check out the quiz below to test your knowledge of the human brain and its many unique features.

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Nicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in The Scientist, Science News, the Mercury News, Mongabay and Stanford Medicine Magazine, among other outlets. Based in NYC, she also remains heavily involved in dance and performs in local choreographers' work.