Cognitive Neuroscience | PD 24 1699

Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 24 1699

The National Science Foundation's Cognitive Neuroscience (CogNeuro) Program (Funding Opportunity Number PD 24 1699; CFDA 47.075) supports research that deepens scientific understanding of the neural mechanisms that produce human cognition and behavior. The program is aimed at theory-driven cognitive neuroscience, where proposals do more than report brain signals or behavioral patterns in isolation. Competitive projects typically start from a clear theoretical framework and then use experiments and analyses designed to test that theory's specific, differentiable predictions by tightly linking physiology, cognition, and behavior under the NSF Intellectual Merit criterion.

CogNeuro is open to a wide range of cognitive topics, including action, perception, imagery, recognition, categorization, learning and memory, working memory, attention, language, problem solving, decision-making, and social reasoning. Because cognitive neuroscience is inherently multidisciplinary and single methods have limits, the program accepts many physiological approaches, such as neuroimaging (for example fMRI, EEG, MEG), non-invasive brain stimulation (for example TMS, tES), lesion approaches, intracranial recordings, optogenetics, genetics, optical imaging, computational modeling, and pharmacological manipulations. Studies may involve humans and, in some cases, non-human primates or other animal models, but the program emphasizes relevance to human cognition. A key priority is methodological convergence, meaning proposals that combine multiple techniques or produce results that can be directly integrated across methods are especially attractive.

There are also clear boundaries about what the program will and will not review. Proposals are returned without review if they focus on behavior alone or physiology alone without a specific and explicit link between the two, if they are primarily aimed at understanding clinical populations, or if they rely on non-human animal work without a clear and compelling benefit to understanding human cognition. In other words, the program is looking for mechanistic explanations that bridge brain and behavior in service of understanding the human mind, not purely descriptive physiology, purely behavioral work, or clinically oriented studies.

On Broader Impacts, CogNeuro expects investigators to plan for benefits that extend beyond standard academic outputs like publishing papers or teaching routine courses. Strong broader impacts can take many forms, but they usually involve concrete efforts to strengthen the field, broaden participation, and increase the visibility or usability of cognitive neuroscience research. Examples highlighted by NSF include STEM education and outreach (especially in underserved communities), directly involving undergraduates or high school students in research, building and sharing tools or applications that are easy for others or the public to discover and use, and science communication or journalism. These activities can be tightly connected to the proposed research, but the program also allows broader impacts that are less directly tied to the specific experiments if they are well justified and credible. Investigators are encouraged to budget appropriately for these activities when they are a meaningful part of the plan.

For proposals that include postdoctoral researchers, the program expects strong postdoctoral mentoring plans that go beyond routine lab participation. Mentoring should include specific, thought-through steps for advancing trainees' careers, taking advantage of the research environment and the content of the project to build skills, networks, independence, and professional development opportunities.

Practically, the program strongly encourages investigators to contact a program director before submitting a full proposal by sending a one-page research summary that includes an overview plus explicit Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts statements. This early contact is intended to help applicants confirm fit and incorporate feedback, which may be substantial. Applicants are also expected to follow the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) closely, since compliance is enforced. The program notes that typical award sizes average around 225K per year for standard awards and about 175K per year for CAREER awards, usually lasting 3 to 5 years; awards above 1M are described as exceptionally rare and generally tied to multidisciplinary efforts, so budget requests should be realistic.

Additional submission expectations and policies include providing a single-copy "List of Suggested Reviewers" document with the full proposal, planning for sharing of data and materials as a normal expectation of funded work, and recognizing that declined proposals generally cannot be resubmitted for at least one year from the original due date unless the program director explicitly allows an earlier resubmission. Proposals that are resubmitted without substantial revision may be returned without review. For fit checks and conversation with the program, investigators can email a one-page description to sbe-cogneuro@nsf.gov or use NSF's Program Suitability and Proposal Concept Tool (ProSPCT). The opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant program with unrestricted eligibility (open to a broad range of entity types, subject to any additional eligibility language in the solicitation), and the opportunity description indicates an anticipated number of awards around 25 for the cycle referenced.

• 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.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 12, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 01, 2024. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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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