Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: August 15, 2025
Funding Amounts: Typical awards: $175,000–$225,000 per year for 3–5 years; awards over $1M are rare and usually multidisciplinary.
Summary: Supports research advancing understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition and behavior, emphasizing theory-driven, multidisciplinary approaches.
Key Information: Proposals lacking a clear link between behavior and physiology, focused on clinical populations, or using non-human animals without clear human relevance will be returned without review.
The National Science Foundation's Cognitive Neuroscience (CogNeuro) program funds research that advances our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition and behavior. The program encourages proposals that integrate precise physiological measurements with behavioral data to test theory-driven hypotheses. Research topics may include perception, memory, attention, language, decision-making, social reasoning, and related domains.
The program welcomes multidisciplinary approaches and the use of diverse physiological methods, such as neuroimaging (fMRI, EEG, MEG), non-invasive stimulation (TMS, tDCS), lesion analysis, intracranial recording, optogenetics, genetics, optical imaging, computational modeling, and pharmacological interventions. Projects that achieve convergence across multiple techniques are particularly encouraged.
Broader impacts are a key review criterion. Proposals should demonstrate efforts to strengthen the field, such as outreach, mentoring, STEM education (especially in underserved communities), public engagement, or tool development. Strong mentoring plans and data sharing are expected.
Proposals that focus solely on behavior or physiology without linking the two, target clinical populations, or use non-human animals without clear relevance to human cognition will be returned without review.
| Name | Phone | Role/Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth F. Chua | echua@nsf.gov | (703) 292-5187 | Program Director, SBE/BCS |
| Dwight Kravitz | dkravitz@nsf.gov | (703) 292-4502 | Program Director, SBE/BCS |
| Joseph C. Toscano | jctoscan@nsf.gov | (703) 292-7220 | Program Director, SBE/BCS |
| Kenyatta Johnson | kenjohns@nsf.gov | (703) 292-4850 | Business Operations Specialist, SBE/BCS |
| General NSF Inquiries | info@nsf.gov | 1-703-292-5111 | NSF Main Contact |
| Program Email (summary submission) | sbe-cogneuro@nsf.gov | Program Summary Submission |