Magnetic dipole bands have been identified in ^142,143,144Gd and ¹⁴¹Eu nuclei. The observed bands are based on configurations with small oblate deformation involving high-{ITALIC \Omega }, h_11/2 proton particles and low- \Omega,  h_11/2 neutron holes. Information about the strength of the effective interaction between the constituent nucleons has been deduced using a semiclassical scheme of the coupling of two angular momentum vectors. The experimental results are compared with predictions of tilted axis cranking calculations. The transition from irregular dipole band in ¹⁴⁴Gd to more regular ones in lighter Gd nuclei is observed.

PACS numbers: 21.10.Re, 21.60.Ev, 23.20.Lv, 23.20.En