Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: November 16, 2026 (Resubmission/revision) | February 16, 2027 (New) | March 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | June 16, 2027 (New) | July 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | October 16, 2027 (New) | November 16, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | January 7, 2028 (Closing)
Funding Amounts: $200,000 award ceiling listed on Grants.gov; maximum project period of 2 years
Summary: Supports invasive neural recording studies in humans addressing mental health questions with high translational potential.
Key Information: Applications must address neuroethical considerations; animal studies and therapeutic-device intervention-development trials are nonresponsive.
Description
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of NIH, administers this R21 exploratory/developmental research opportunity to advance understanding of neural circuits underlying moods, emotions, cognition, and behavior. It supports mental health-relevant questions particularly suited to invasive human recordings, with electrical stimulation offering direct causal tests of circuit function and network dynamics. Projects should have high translational potential but need not produce immediate therapies.
Research opportunities include intraoperative recordings during deep brain stimulation surgery, subacute recordings during epilepsy monitoring, and chronic recordings from implanted recording/stimulating systems. Prospective and retrospective data are eligible. The mechanism encourages shorter, higher-risk studies with little or no preliminary data. Teams should identify the recording opportunity and explain the mental health relevance of their behavioral assays. Collaboration to improve patient recruitment is strongly encouraged.
