Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

PhD Raymundo Báez-Mendoza

Group Leader Neurobiology Department


  • 2022 – Present: Group Leader, Neurobiology Department, German Primate Center and Leibniz Center for Primate Research
  • 2018 – 2022: Instructor in Research, Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
  • 2015 – 2018 Research Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
  • 2014 – 2015 Research Associate, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • 2014 Ph.D. in Neuroscience, supervised by Prof. Wolfram Schultz, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • 2007 M.Sc. in Behavioural and Neural Sciences, International Max Planck Research School in Behavioral and Neural Sciences, University of Tübingen, Germany
  • 2004 B.Sc. in Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico




Major Research Interests

We live in a social environment: we play, talk, and interact with others daily. These interactions have direct consequences on our wellbeing and, ultimately, our survival as individuals but also as a species. Our brains play a fundamental role in how we interact with others, yet we are only beginning to unravel the neuronal basis of social behaviors. The Social Neurobiology lab aims to study the neuronal mechanisms of normal and abnormal social behavior using neurophysiology and neuronal manipulations in interacting humans and non-human primates. To achieve this goal, we research marmoset behavior and brain activity in carefully designed experiments and naturalistic environments. We complement our experimental approach by studying and modeling human social interactions. Ultimately, we are driven to understand the neurobiology of how and why (or why not!) we form social bonds.


Homepage Department/Research Group
https://www.dpz.eu/en/unit/nwg-social-neurobiology/about-us.html
www.baezlab.co


Selected Recent Publications


  • S. W. Li, O. Zeliger, L. Strahs, R. Báez-Mendoza, L. M. Johnson, A. McDonald Wojciechowski, Z. M. Williams. (2022) A prefrontal mechanism linking social group dominance with competitive success. Nature 603 (7902), 661-666 doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04000-5

  • R. Báez-Mendoza, E. P. Mastrobattista, A. J. Wang, Z M. Williams. (2021) Social Agent Identity Cells in the Prefrontal Cortex of Interacting Groups of Primates Science. 274 (6566), eabb4149. doi:10.1126/science.abb4149

  • S. W. Li, Z. M. Williams, R. Báez-Mendoza. (2021) Investigating the neurobiology of abnormal social behaviors. Frontiers in Neural Circuits. 15 (144), doi: 10.3389/fncir.2021.769314

  • R. Báez-Mendoza*, Y. Vázquez*, E. Mastrobattista, Z. M. Williams. (2021 ) Neuronal circuits for social decision-making and their clinical implications Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15(1291) doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.720294

  • M. Jamali, B. L. Grannan, E. Fedorenko, R. Saxe, R. Báez-Mendoza, Z. M. Williams. (2021) Single-neuronal predictions of others’ beliefs in humans. Nature. 591 (7851), 610-614.10.1038/s41586-021-03184-0

  • F Grabenhorst, R. Báez-Mendoza, W Genest, G Deco, W Schultz. (2019) Primate amygdala neurons simulate decision processes of social partners. Cell. 177 (4), 1-13. 10.1016/j.cell.2019.02.042