Description

This NIH opportunity seeks to advance mechanistic and translational research on the onset and worsening of mood and psychotic disorders—such as perimenopausal depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia—during the menopause transition (MT). The goal is to identify neurobiological, behavioral, and social mechanisms underlying these disorders and to pinpoint novel targets for future prevention and intervention efforts.

The funding opportunity encourages interdisciplinary teams, including those with lived experience of perimenopausal depression or psychosis, and welcomes projects that use dimensional or Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approaches. Studies should focus on populations transitioning through menopause and may include relevant comparison groups if scientifically justified.

Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Neurobiological, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms underlying mood disruption and psychosis during MT
• Risk factors (biological, genetic, psychosocial, environmental) for mood and psychosis during MT
• Mechanistic roles of reproductive steroids
• Brain circuits and neurobiological systems as treatment targets
• Computational and multi-level approaches (e.g., neuroimaging, digital phenotyping)
• Intersectionality and social determinants of health

Applications must address mechanisms (not just descriptive studies) and combine at least two levels of analysis (e.g., genetic, cellular, brain circuit, physiological, behavioral, self-report).