Abstract: Bats are highly social animals with complex vocal communication systems supporting navigation and social interactions. My research investigates the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying social cohesion, auditory perception, and communication in bats. From a neuropathological perspective, integrating behavioral ecology with neural systems approaches, my lab explores fundamental questions such as how bats recognize roost mates and how this may influence roost fidelity, how hierarchical social structures form, and how context shapes responses to communication sounds. To explore these questions we employ a multidisciplinary approach, combining behavioral assays, electrophysiological recordings, neuroanatomical mapping, and computational modeling; spanning both controlled laboratory settings and field environments. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our recent advances and strategies to answer these questions and discuss how our work provides key insights into the neural mechanisms and behavioral ecology of auditory communication in mammals.