Nachum Ulanovsky

Nachum Ulanovsky is a Professor of Brain Sciences and Head of the Center for Learning, Memory & Cognition at the Weizmann Institute of Science. He studies the neural basis of spatial cognition and social cognition in the mammalian hippocampal formation – using bats as a unique animal model. He developed world-unique wireless electrophysiology devices, which enabled the discovery of 3D place cells, 3D head-direction cells and 3D grid cells in flying bats; as well as the discovery of goal-vector cells – which encode navigational goals; and social place-cells – which represent other individuals, in a social context. He also recorded from neurons in bats flying in very large-scale environments (hundreds of meters), thus elucidating the neural codes for very large spaces.

Seeking to create a "Natural Neuroscience", Ulanovsky's approach is to study the neural basis of behavior by tapping into the animal's natural behaviors in complex, large-scale, naturalistic settings. He performs experiments in bats flying in very large environments, hundreds of meters in size, during navigation and social interactions. He holds a Ph.D. in Neural Computation from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.