Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 17 014
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity "BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-NS-17-014) supports ambitious, integrated neuroscience research projects aimed at explaining how patterns of neural circuit activity generate mental experiences and observable behavior. It is part of the NIH BRAIN Initiative and uses the R01 grant mechanism, signaling that NIH is looking for substantial, hypothesis-driven research efforts rather than small pilot studies. The central emphasis is on connecting circuit dynamics to function in a way that is mechanistically informative, experimentally testable, and able to deliver a clear, meaningful outcome within a five-year project period.
The scientific focus is on neural circuits of the central nervous system and how they produce specific capabilities or behavioral domains. Applications are expected to target circuit function within defined neural systems tied to areas such as sensation, perception, attention, reasoning, intention, decision-making, emotion, navigation, communication, or homeostasis. Rather than simply describing correlations between brain activity and behavior, the opportunity pushes applicants toward work that can explain how circuit computations unfold over time and how those computations map onto the organism's experience and actions. In practice, this means the proposed research should be grounded in well-posed questions about circuit mechanisms, and the project should be framed around understanding circuit-level principles that can generalize beyond a single experimental setup.
A key feature of this FOA is the requirement for methodologically integrated approaches. NIH is encouraging projects that combine experimental neuroscience with theory and sophisticated data analysis in a tightly coordinated way. Applicants are expected to show that analysis and modeling are not afterthoughts but are directly shaping experimental design, stimulus selection, behavioral task structure, and the logic of causal tests. A concrete deliverable expected from these projects is predictive modeling: the grant is looking for models that do more than fit past data and instead generate predictions that can be evaluated with planned experiments. In other words, theory and analytics should drive forward-looking hypotheses about circuit behavior, and the experimental work should be designed to validate, falsify, or refine those predictions.
The FOA also stresses a specific experimental strategy for probing circuits: systematically controlling stimuli and/or behavior while actively recording and/or manipulating dynamic patterns of neural activity. This highlights an expectation that applicants will move beyond passive observation toward designs that permit causal inference, such as perturbing neural activity while measuring consequences for circuit dynamics and behavior, or using controlled sensory and behavioral paradigms that isolate key variables. The phrase "dynamic patterns" signals interest in time-varying, population-level activity and circuit state changes, not just static measures or single-neuron snapshots. Overall, the intended outcome is a stronger mechanistic understanding of how circuits operate in real time to support cognition and behavior.
Projects may use non-human animal species, and applicants are expected to justify their choice of organism in a principled way. The application should explain why the selected species provides especially strong leverage for uncovering general principles about the circuit basis of the targeted behavior. This typically means arguing that the species offers particular experimental advantages (for example, accessibility of certain circuits, ability to implement precise behavioral control, suitability for recordings or manipulations, or alignment between the animal's natural behaviors and the functions under study). The FOA's framing makes clear that model organism work is welcome, but it must be explicitly connected to broader circuit principles rather than being purely descriptive or species-specific.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity funded by NIH, with activity categories spanning education, health, and social services and listing multiple CFDA numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), reflecting NIH's multi-institute involvement in BRAIN-related research. The expected number of awards is listed as 10, indicating a competitive program with a limited set of funded projects. The original closing date was March 8, 2017, and the FOA was created on December 2, 2016, which situates it as a specific funding round rather than an open-ended solicitation.
Eligibility is broad and includes many common applicant types for NIH grants: public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. It also includes Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations that are not federally recognized. The FOA explicitly highlights additional eligible groups and institution types, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). Taken together, that eligibility language signals an intent to encourage diverse institutional participation and to support strong circuit neuroscience wherever the expertise and infrastructure exist.
In summary, this opportunity is designed to fund tightly integrated, circuit-focused neuroscience projects that combine controlled behavioral or stimulus paradigms with active recording and manipulation of neural activity, all guided by strong analytical and theoretical frameworks. NIH is looking for projects that can produce predictive, testable models of circuit function and that can deliver a meaningful scientific outcome within five years, with proposals centered on well-defined neural systems and behaviors spanning perception, cognition, emotion, and homeostatic regulation.Apply for RFA NS 17 014
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-02.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-03-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.
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