Science publication of our Israelian project partners on head direction cells in free-flying bats
October 16, 2025 On the remote Latham Island off the coast of Tanzania, project members of our SFB, led by Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky of the Weizman Institute of Science, measured the brain activity of Egyptian fruit bats in the wild for the first time – and showed that head direction cells form a stable, global neural compass. The animals do not orient themselves by the moon, stars or magnetic field, but by landmarks – and need several nights to ‘learn’ this internal compass.
The study provides evidence that head direction cells also function outside the laboratory – a milestone in understanding navigation in mammals and possibly also in humans.
Further information can be found in the original publication and the press release of the University of Oldenburg (in German).
Palgi S, Ray S, Maimon SR, Waserman Y, Ben-Ari L, Eliav T, Tuval A, Cohen C, Keyyu JD, Ali AI, Mouritsen H, Las L, Ulanovsky N. Head-direction cells as a neural compass in bats navigating outdoors on a remote oceanic island. Science. 2025 Oct 16;390(6770):eadw6202.
Photo: Weizmann Institute of Science