We study the neural circuits of magnetic orientation in mammals

Welcome to the Malkemper-Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior - caesar. We are interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms for animal magnetosensation and the neural circuits processing magnetic information. Many animals possess the ability to perceive the Earth's magnetic field, but it remains unknown how the magnetic sense works. We focus on the magnetic sense in mammals and use African mole-rats as a model system. To study their magnetic sense we employ a wide array of behavioural, histological, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques.