BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects- TargetedBCP (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 18 030

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 18 030

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity "BRAIN Initiative: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects (TargetedBCP) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" supports ambitious neuroscience research aimed at explaining how patterns of neural circuit activity generate mental experience and behavior. The program is part of the broader BRAIN Initiative and is designed for projects that can deliver a clear, meaningful outcome within a five-year project period. In practical terms, the FOA is looking for tightly focused, high-impact circuit neuroscience studies that combine multiple methods into a cohesive plan rather than relying on a single technique or a purely descriptive approach.

A central priority of this opportunity is understanding circuit function in specific neural systems tied to core domains of brain function and behavior. Examples explicitly highlighted include sensation and perception, attention, reasoning, intention, decision-making, emotion, navigation, communication, and homeostasis. The emphasis is on linking neural circuit dynamics to measurable aspects of behavior or internal state, with the expectation that projects will go beyond correlational observations to produce mechanistic insight. Successful applications are expected to show how circuit activity changes in relation to carefully controlled stimuli and/or behavior, and how those circuit changes can be used to explain or predict the observed mental or behavioral outcomes.

Methodological integration is a defining feature of the program. The FOA encourages research designs that systematically control inputs (such as sensory stimuli, task demands, or environmental conditions) and outputs (behavioral readouts), while actively recording and/or manipulating neural activity in real time or near real time. This could include electrophysiology, optical imaging, neural perturbation approaches, computational modeling, and advanced behavioral tracking, as long as the methods are woven together into a unified experimental strategy. The goal is not only to observe brain activity, but to test causal hypotheses about how circuit dynamics generate function, ideally using perturbations or manipulations that can differentiate competing explanations.

Another core expectation is that applications will explicitly link theory and data analysis to experimental design. Rather than treating analysis as a downstream step, the FOA is signaling that computational and theoretical frameworks should shape what is measured, how experiments are structured, and how results will be interpreted. A key deliverable is the development of predictive models, meaning applicants should aim to produce models that can forecast circuit and behavioral outcomes under defined conditions, not just summarize datasets after the fact. These models are expected to be integral outputs of the project, reflecting a commitment to quantitative, hypothesis-driven science with testable predictions.

The FOA allows studies in both human and non-human species, but it expects applicants to justify their choice of organism in a principled way. Applications should explain how the selected species provides ideal experimental conditions to reveal generalizable principles about the circuit basis of a specific behavior. For non-human models, this might mean access to invasive recording or manipulation methods and precise experimental control. For human studies, it might involve leveraging noninvasive recording, clinical contexts where recordings are already available for medical reasons, or sophisticated cognitive and behavioral paradigms. Regardless of species, the overarching intent is to extract broadly informative circuit principles rather than observations that are difficult to generalize.

This is an R01 grant mechanism and explicitly does not allow clinical trials. That limitation is important for project planning: the work should focus on basic or mechanistic understanding of neural circuits rather than testing clinical interventions for efficacy in a trial framework. Human research can still be possible, but the activities must remain outside the definition of a clinical trial as used by NIH for this announcement.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education where specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also calls out additional eligible groups such as 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), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-domestic (foreign) entities, and U.S. territories or possessions. This wide eligibility reflects an intent to broaden participation while still focusing tightly on the scientific goals of circuit-level discovery and predictive modeling.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as RFA-NS-18-030, offered by NIH as a discretionary grant program within health and related research domains. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was November 10, 2020, and the creation date is April 19, 2018. It is associated with multiple CFDA numbers, indicating participation or relevance across several NIH components. Overall, the announcement is best understood as a targeted call for integrated, theory-linked, circuit neuroscience projects that use rigorous experimental control and modern recording/manipulation tools to produce predictive, mechanistic explanations of how the brain generates behavior and mental experience within a five-year timeline.

• 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 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" 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, 93.313, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-04-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

Apply for RFA NS 18 030

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