Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 15 1699
Apply for PD 15 1699
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cognitive Neuroscience" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 21, 2015 and posted on Apr 15, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 11, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $8,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Cognitive Neuroscience sits within the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences) and supports interdisciplinary research aimed at explaining the neural mechanisms that underlie human cognition. The core priority is basic science: proposals should push forward fundamental understanding of how brain activity gives rise to cognition and behavior, with a strong emphasis on integrating perspectives from cognitive, social, and economic sciences. NSF signals a clear preference for work that is conceptually bold and methodologically modern, especially projects that introduce new theories, analytic approaches, tools, or combinations of techniques that can open up previously hard-to-answer questions about how the healthy brain functions.
The scope of scientific topics is broad and includes both foundational and higher-level cognitive functions. NSF explicitly mentions sensory and perceptual processes (including olfaction, touch, and multisensory integration; and higher perception such as faces, music, and rhythm), as well as higher cognition (consciousness, decision making, mathematics, mental imagery, navigation, reasoning), language (discourse, multilingualism, syntax), and a wide range of other domains such as affect, attention, executive functions, learning, memory, motor control, prediction, sleep, social processes, timing, and uncertainty. The program also welcomes research that examines how these abilities change across the lifespan, including development, healthy aging, and transformational changes over time. Studies that include neurological or psychiatric conditions (for example Autism, Schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or brain injury) can be included, but only when those populations are used as models to clarify typical mechanisms; the program is not meant to fund projects primarily focused on disease causes, diagnosis, or treatment.
A major theme of the opportunity is methodological innovation and the convergence of cutting-edge approaches across spatial and temporal scales. NSF highlights a wide toolkit: neuroimaging methods that measure or infer neural activity (PET and fMRI), optical methods that capture vascular changes (NIRS), electrophysiology and related approaches with high temporal resolution (EEG, MEG, and ECoG), structural and connectivity methods (diffusion imaging variants), noninvasive brain stimulation (TMS and transcranial electrical stimulation, including tDCS, tACS, and tRNS), lesion-symptom mapping, neurogenetics, and computational modeling. The solicitation also underscores newer directions such as machine learning and multivariate pattern analysis, resting-state and task-based connectomics, and large-scale data analysis. It explicitly notes the growing value of combinatorial designs (for example, simultaneously using TMS with EEG or fMRI) and model-based approaches where computational cognitive models are used to directly interpret neuroimaging and behavioral data.
NSF also describes a shift in what it considers most compelling science in cognitive neuroscience: moving away from purely correlative, region-of-interest (ROI) studies toward network-based accounts of neural states that speak to connectivity and causal mechanisms. ROI analyses are not ruled out, but the program states they will be competitive only when they clearly advance causal explanation rather than simply describing correlations. The kinds of payoffs NSF is looking for include clearer descriptions of functional brain organization (what specific areas do within distributed networks), understanding individual differences (including genetic variation), insights into plasticity and recovery after neural damage, and tighter mapping between brain dynamics and cognitive process models (for instance, linking the timing information from MEG with the spatial precision of fMRI within the same individuals and tasks). Cross-species comparisons are also framed as a way to place human cognition in a broader biological context, including comparisons with invasive recordings in non-human primates or other mammals when useful for interpretation.
On the programmatic and community side, NSF places special weight on projects that build shared infrastructure for the field. Proposals focused on developing new technologies, recording or analysis techniques, brain mapping methods, or computational tools are encouraged, and NSF expects a concrete plan for sharing resulting software or technologies with the wider research community. The program also calls out the practical challenge of rapidly growing datasets collected across different laboratories, signaling interest in proposals that improve standardization, curation, and data sharing so that results can be compared, integrated, and reanalyzed more effectively across environments.
The opportunity encourages interdisciplinary teams and collaborations spanning cognitive science and psychology as well as developmental science, biology, computer science, engineering, education, anthropology, physics, mathematics, and statistics. Examples of projects that fit well include (1) creating or integrating methodologies to address cognitive questions in humans or non-human primates, (2) applying computational techniques and models to cognitive questions or to difficult data-analysis problems, (3) using connectivity and network analyses to separate overlapping cognitive processes, (4) studying non-stationary effects across time scales (such as learning and development across youth, aging, and impaired groups), (5) combining brain stimulation or symptom mapping with sophisticated behavioral analysis to establish causal links between networks and functions, and (6) comparative gene expression work in humans or non-human primates focused on neural regions involved in higher cognition.
Key administrative details in the announcement indicate this is an NSF discretionary grant program (Funding Opportunity Number PD 15-1699) under CFDA 47.075 (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences). The estimated total funding is about $8,000,000 with an expected 25 awards, and there is no cost-sharing requirement. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any clarifications in the full announcement). The notice was posted April 15, 2015, with the closing date listed as February 11, 2016 (and an archive date of September 12, 2029). For access or submission issues, the announcement points applicants to NSF grants.gov support (grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - NSF Cognitive Neuroscience (PD 15-1699)
1) What is this NSF funding opportunity?
This is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Cognitive Neuroscience. It sits within the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and it supports interdisciplinary research that explains the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition.
2) What is the main goal or priority of the program?
The central priority is basic science. Proposals are expected to advance fundamental understanding of how brain activity gives rise to cognition and behavior. NSF emphasizes work that integrates perspectives from cognitive, social, and economic sciences and pushes beyond descriptive findings toward explanatory, mechanism-focused accounts.
3) What kinds of projects does NSF prefer under this opportunity?
NSF signals a preference for projects that are conceptually bold and methodologically modern, especially those that introduce new theories, analytic approaches, tools, or novel combinations of techniques that open up previously hard-to-answer questions about how the healthy brain functions.
4) What scientific topics are within scope?
The scope is broad and includes both foundational and higher-level cognitive functions. Examples explicitly mentioned include:
- Sensory and perceptual processes (including olfaction, touch, multisensory integration)
- Higher perception (faces, music, rhythm)
- Higher cognition (consciousness, decision making, mathematics, mental imagery, navigation, reasoning)
- Language (discourse, multilingualism, syntax)
- Other domains including affect, attention, executive functions, learning, memory, motor control, prediction, sleep, social processes, timing, uncertainty
5) Does the program support lifespan research (development and aging)?
Yes. The opportunity welcomes research examining how cognitive abilities change across the lifespan, including development, healthy aging, and transformational changes over time.
6) Can studies include neurological or psychiatric conditions?
Yes, but with an important limitation: populations with neurological or psychiatric conditions (for example Autism, Schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or brain injury) may be included only when they are used as models to clarify typical mechanisms. The program is not intended to fund projects primarily focused on disease causes, diagnosis, or treatment.
7) What methods and approaches does NSF highlight as relevant?
NSF highlights methodological innovation and convergence across spatial and temporal scales, including a wide toolkit such as:
- Neuroimaging that measures or infers neural activity (PET, fMRI)
- Optical methods capturing vascular changes (NIRS)
- Electrophysiology with high temporal resolution (EEG, MEG, ECoG)
- Structural/connectivity methods (diffusion imaging variants)
- Noninvasive brain stimulation (TMS; transcranial electrical stimulation including tDCS, tACS, tRNS)
- Lesion-symptom mapping
- Neurogenetics
- Computational modeling
8) Does the opportunity encourage machine learning, connectomics, or large-scale data analysis?
Yes. NSF explicitly notes interest in newer directions such as machine learning and multivariate pattern analysis, resting-state and task-based connectomics, and large-scale data analysis.
9) Are multi-method or combinatorial study designs encouraged?
Yes. The solicitation points to the growing value of combinatorial designs, such as using TMS with EEG or TMS with fMRI. It also emphasizes model-based approaches where computational cognitive models are used to directly interpret neuroimaging and behavioral data.
10) Is NSF moving away from region-of-interest (ROI) studies?
NSF describes a shift away from purely correlative ROI studies toward network-based accounts that address connectivity and causal mechanisms. ROI analyses are not prohibited, but they are described as competitive only when they clearly advance causal explanation rather than simply reporting correlations.
11) What types of scientific outcomes or payoffs does NSF say it is looking for?
Examples of payoffs described include:
- Clearer descriptions of functional brain organization (what specific areas do within distributed networks)
- Understanding individual differences (including genetic variation)
- Insights into plasticity and recovery after neural damage
- Tighter mapping between brain dynamics and cognitive process models (for example, integrating MEG timing with fMRI spatial precision in the same individuals and tasks)
12) Are cross-species comparisons allowed or encouraged?
Yes. Cross-species comparisons are presented as a way to place human cognition in a broader biological context, including comparisons with invasive recordings in non-human primates or other mammals when useful for interpretation.
13) Does NSF encourage projects that build shared infrastructure for the field?
Yes. NSF places special weight on projects that build shared infrastructure, including development of new technologies, recording or analysis techniques, brain mapping methods, or computational tools.
14) Are there expectations around sharing software, tools, or technology developed under the award?
Yes. For proposals focused on new technologies or tools, NSF expects a concrete plan for sharing resulting software or technologies with the wider research community.
15) Does the program care about data standards and data sharing across labs?
Yes. The opportunity highlights the practical challenge of rapidly growing datasets across different laboratories and signals interest in proposals that improve standardization, curation, and data sharing so results can be compared, integrated, and reanalyzed more effectively across environments.
16) What kinds of interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged?
The opportunity encourages interdisciplinary teams spanning cognitive science and psychology as well as fields such as developmental science, biology, computer science, engineering, education, anthropology, physics, mathematics, and statistics.
17) What are examples of projects that fit well with this program?
Examples explicitly listed include:
- Creating or integrating methodologies to address cognitive questions in humans or non-human primates
- Applying computational techniques and models to cognitive questions or difficult data-analysis problems
- Using connectivity and network analyses to separate overlapping cognitive processes
- Studying non-stationary effects across time scales (learning, development, aging, and impaired groups)
- Combining brain stimulation or symptom mapping with sophisticated behavioral analysis to establish causal links between networks and functions
- Comparative gene expression work in humans or non-human primates focused on neural regions involved in higher cognition
18) What is the Funding Opportunity Number and CFDA number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is PD 15-1699. The CFDA number listed is 47.075 (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences).
19) How much funding is available and how many awards are expected?
The estimated total program funding is about $8,000,000, with an expected 25 awards.
20) Is cost-sharing required?
No. The announcement states there is no cost-sharing requirement.
21) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full announcement.
22) What are the key dates listed for this opportunity?
The notice was posted on April 15, 2015. The closing date is listed as February 11, 2016. The archive date is September 12, 2029.
23) Who should applicants contact for access or submission issues?
For access or submission issues, the announcement directs applicants to NSF grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.
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