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This FOA solicits applications for research projects that use innovative, methodologically-integrated approaches to understand how circuit activity gives rise to mental experience and behavior. The goal is to support projects that can realize a meaningful outcome within 5 years. Applications should address circuit function in the context of specific neural systems such as sensation, perception, attention, reasoning, intention, decision-making, emotion, navigation, communication or homeostasis. Projects should link theory and data analysis to experimental design and should produce predictive models as deliverables. Projects should aim to improve the understanding of circuits of the central nervous system by systematically controlling stimuli and/or behavior while actively recording and/or manipulating dynamic patterns of neural activity. Projects can use non-human animal species, and applications should explain how the selected species offers ideal conditions for revealing general principles about the circuit basis of a specific behavior.

This FOA solicits applications for exploratory research projects that use innovative, methodologically-integrated approaches to understand how circuit activity gives rise to mental experience and behavior. Applications should offer a limited scope of aims and an approach that will establish feasibility, validity or other technically qualifying results that, if successful, would support a potential, subsequent Targeted Brain Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP R01, as described in the companion FOA (RFA-NS-17-014).

The purpose of this FOA is to invite research applications proposing to investigate the clinical, imaging, or physiological characteristics of subjects with dementia and parkinsonism (Lewy Body Dementia) using previously-collected data available in the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)/National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) and/or the Parkinsons Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP) databases. Research should focus on identifying clinical or biological attributes that could serve to 1) lead to early diagnosis, 2) improve differential diagnosis, and/or 3) lead to the identification of potential therapeutic targets. Applicants must propose to use data in at least one of the ADNI or PDBP databases, but may include the use of other previously-collected data if such data is scientifically relevant and of comparable quality. Applicants are not expected or encouraged to collect new data.

This FOA will support integrated, interdisciplinary research teams from prior BRAIN technology and/or integrated approaches teams, and/or new projects from the research community that focus on examining circuit functions related to behavior, using advanced and innovative technologies. The goal will be to support programs with a team science approach that can realize meaningful outcomes within 5-plus years. Awards will be made for 5 years, with a possibility of one competing renewal. Applications should address overarching principles of circuit function in the context of specific neural systems underlying sensation, perception, emotion, motivation, cognition, decision-making, motor control, communication, or homeostasis. Applications should incorporate theory-/model-driven experimental design and should offer predictive models as deliverables. Applications should seek to understand circuits of the central nervous system by systematically controlling stimuli and/or behavior while actively recording and/or manipulating relevant dynamic patterns of neural activity and by measuring the resulting behaviors and/or perceptions. Applications are expected to employ approaches guided by specified theoretical constructs, and are encouraged to employ quantitative, mechanistic models where appropriate. Applications will be required to manage their data and analysis methods in a prototype framework that will be developed and used in the proposed U19 project and exchanged with other U19 awardees for further refinement and development. Model systems, including the possibility of multiple species ranging from invertebrates to humans, can be employed and should be appropriately justified. Budgets should be commensurate with multi-component teams of research expertise including neurobiologists, statisticians, physicists, mathematicians, engineers, computer scientists, and data scientists, as appropriate - that seek to cross boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Invasive surgical procedures provide the unique ability to record and stimulate neurons within precisely localized brain structures in humans. Human studies using invasive technology are often constrained by a limited number of patients and resources available to implement complex experimental protocols and are rarely aggregated in a manner that addresses research questions with appropriate statistical power. Therefore, this FOA seeks applications to assemble integrated, multi-disciplinary teams to overcome these fundamental barriers. Projects should investigate high-impact questions in human neuroscience and disorders of the human nervous system. The research should be offered as experimental projects, or exploratory research and planning activities, for building teams, generating data and empirical results that will later compete for continued funding under new or ongoing FOAs of the BRAIN Initiative or under NIH Institute appropriations.

The purpose of this FOA is to solicit applications to support Demonstration Projects that include an efficient, large-scale pragmatic clinical trial. Trials must be conducted across two or more health care systems (HCS) and must be conducted as part of the NIH HCS Research Collaboratory supported through the NIH Common Fund. (See https://commonfund.nih.gov/hcscollaboratory). Awards made through this FOA will initially support a one-year milestone-driven planning phase (UG3), with possible rapid transition to the second implementation phase (UH3) for a pragmatic trial Demonstration Project. UH3s will be awarded after administrative review of eligible UG3s that have met the scientific milestone and feasibility requirements necessary for the UH3 implementation phase, depending on the availability of funds. The UG3/UH3 application must be submitted as a single application, and applicants should note specific instructions for each phase in this FOA.

The purpose of the NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award is to support a defined pathway across career stages for outstanding graduate students who are from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in neuroscience research. This two-phase award will facilitate completion of the doctoral dissertation and transition of talented graduate students to strong neuroscience research postdoctoral positions, and will provide career development opportunities relevant to their long-term career goal of becoming independent neuroscience researchers.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA), in support of the NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, is one of several FOAs aimed at supporting transformative discoveries that will lead to breakthroughs in understanding human brain function. Guided by the long-term scientific plan, BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision, this FOA specifically seeks to support efforts addressing core ethical issues associated with research focused on the human brain and resulting from emerging technologies and advancements in research and development supported by the BRAIN Initiative. The hope is that efforts supported under this FOA might be both complimentary and integrative with the transformative, breakthrough discoveries being supported through the BRAIN Initiative.

This FOA encourages preclinical and clinical research to study whether, and how, different neurodegenerative disease processes interact with one another to initiate and/or hasten progression of neuropathology and dementia.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA), in support of the NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, aims to support early stage development of entirely new and novel noninvasive human brain imaging technologies and methods that will lead to transformative advances in our understanding of the human brain. The FOA solicits unusually bold and potentially transformative approaches and supports small scale, proof of concept development based on exceptionally innovative, original and/or unconventional concepts.