Social interactions are fundamental to maintaining a healthy life. Likewise, an individual's reputation, cooperation and social bonds play a crucial role in social interactions. Our lab investigates the interdependence and neural basis of these psychological processes.
The ultimate goal of the lab is to understand the behavioral and neural mechanisms responsible for the formation and maintenance of friendships through a multi-pronged approach.
ZpongXED – stock.adobe.com 
Wong, Williams, Williams, Báez-Mendoza Podcast Interview
In this podcast interview for Neuroscience & Beyond, Dr. Báez Mendoza talks about how we explore the neural basis of social behavior. From understanding trust and cooperation to decoding fear and social distance, we talk about how the brain makes sense of our most fundamental social experiences. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or YouTube (Aug. 2025).
Raymundo Báez-Mendoza was interviewed about the role of immigration in science for NPR Radio (USA) (November 2024). https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/21/nx-s1-5187926/u-s-science-could-suffer-if-trump-limits-h-1b-visas-again.
Selected Publications
- 2025
Grabenhorst, F., & Báez-Mendoza, R. (2025). Dynamic coding and sequential integration of multiple reward attributes by primate amygdala neurons. Nature Communications, 16(1).
- 2022
S. W. Li, O. Zeliger, L. Strahs, R. Báez-Mendoza, L. M. Johnson, A. McDonald Wojciechowski, Z. M. Williams. A prefrontal mechanism linking social group dominance with competitive success. Nature 603 (7902), 661-666
- 2021
R. Báez-Mendoza, E. P. Mastrobattista, A. J. Wang, Z M. Williams. Social Agent Identity Cells in the Prefrontal Cortex of Interacting Groups of Primates. Science. 274 (6566), eabb4149
- 2021
M. Jamali, B. L. Grannan, E. Fedorenko, R. Saxe, R. Báez-Mendoza, Z. M. Williams Single-neuronal predictions of others’ beliefs in humans. Nature. 591 (7851), 610-614
- 2019
F Grabenhorst, R Báez-Mendoza, W Genest, G Deco, W Schultz. Primate amygdala neurons simulate decision processes of social partners. Cell. 177 (4), 1-13
- 2013
R. Báez-Mendoza, C. Harris, W. Schultz. Activity of striatal neurons reflects social action and own reward. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 110(41), 16634:16639
We are funded through an ERC Starting Grant, eanen Leibniz Cooperative Excellence Grant, the MacLean-Erkelenz-Stiftung and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Currently, we have one open position for a postdoc and regularly offer the possibility to do lab rotations or Master studies in the lab. More details can be found in our Jobs page.
