New Study Reveals Complex Visual Attention Patterns in Assamese Macaques

A new study by SFB PhD student Sofia Pereira, Julia Ostner, Oliver Schülke, and colleagues explores how wild Assamese macaques allocate their attention to social interactions among group members. The team found that social interactions are far more engaging than non-interactive social scenes. In particular, agonistic interactions—such as fights or threats—received more attention than friendly ones. These biases were even stronger, when the interactions involved individuals that were much higher in rank than the observer, or when they involved the observer’s close social bonds. For this project, Sofia and her colleagues spent ten months at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary field site in Thailand, analyzing nearly 1,000 social interactions among wild Assamese macaques. They examined how group members in the vicinity responded to these events. Their findings suggest that macaques integrate social knowledge from their past interactions into their observations of currently ongoing social interactions of others. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, underscores the complexity of information integration from bottom-up and top-down processes in real time during social interactions in free-ranging primates.

Read the full paper here

Neuroscience Lecture and Book Discussion with Nicole C. Rust on April 28, 2026

On April 28, 2026, Prof. Nicole C. Rust from the University of Pennsylvania will visit our SFB and participate in two separate events addressing key questions in neuroscience. In the afternoon at 2:00 PM, she will deliver a lecture titled From Subjective Feelings to Brain Mechanisms: Advancing the Science of Mood through Epistemic Iteration. The talk will focus on the methodological challenges of studying mood, which relies on subjective self-reports rather than objective measurements. Prof. Rust will present her team’s work on identifying neural correlates of mood in the monkey brain and discuss how these findings contribute to understanding mood regulation. In the evening, at 5:30 PM, Prof. Rust will present her new book, Elusive Cures, in a discussion with Sliven Georgiev, host of the Neuroscience & Beyond podcast. In her book, she argues for a shift in perspective—treating the brain as a dynamic system—and explore how this approach could improve treatments for brain disorders. The event will be followed by an open Q&A with the audience. The afternoon lecture will take place at the German Primate Center, the evening discussion at the University Medical Center.

New Study Reveals Key Barriers to Communicating Animal Research

A systematic review published in Public Understanding of Science identifies the major challenges researchers and institutions face when communicating about animal experimentation. The study by SFB members Sebastian Löser, Susanne Bögeholz and colleagues analyzed 65 academic documents and found that the most significant barriers include the inherent complexity and ethical controversies of the research, public opposition and mistrust, and a dysfunctional discourse environment dominated by misinformation and polarization. These factors often lead to discouraged or very selective public engagement and debate. The authors argue that addressing these barriers—through greater transparency, proactive communication, and targeted strategies—is essential for fostering informed dialogue between science and society.

Read the full story here

Multiple open positions

SFB members have multiple positions to fill. Marcella Woud and Andre Pittig at the Institute of Psychology are recruiting PhD students to investigate face perception in social anxiety and the role of social factors in decision-making conflicts. At the German Primate Center, Claudia Fichtel has a postdoc position to fill to study social cognition in the wild with our lemurs at our beautiful Kirindy field site. Finally, Julia Fischer and her team are looking for a field assistant. If you would like to observe wild Guinea baboons at our Simenti field site in Senegal, this might be the right job for you.

All open positions can be found at our recruitment page