Establishing a Research Network to Guide Foundational Research on Human Consciousness
Forecasted Federal grant Posted
- Opportunity number
- RFA-AT-27-002
- Agency
-
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
- Applications expected due
- Award size
- Not on record
Opportunity facts
- Expected posting
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
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- Health
- Eligible applicants
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- County Governments
- Tribal Organizations (Not Federally Recognized)
- State Governments
- For Profit Organizations
- Public or Indian Housing Auth.
- Non-501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Special District Governments
- Higher Education Inst. (Private)
- Higher Education Inst. (Public)
- Other
- City/Township Governments
- Independent School Districts
- Small Businesses
- Points of contact
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Institutes of Health is forecasting a cooperative agreement to establish the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Network to Guide Foundational Research on Human Consciousness, leveraging trans-NIH collaboration across 14 Institutes, Centers, and Offices, with no hard deadline stated in the forecast notice.
Eligible applicants include county governments, tribal organizations (federally and non-federally recognized), state governments, for-profit organizations, public or Indian housing authorities, non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, tribal governments, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, special district governments, higher education institutions (private and public), cities and townships, independent school districts, small businesses, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, faith-based or community-based organizations, and regional organizations.
The initiative addresses fragmented, poorly standardized biomedical research on consciousness by creating a national interdisciplinary research network to accelerate rigorous, reproducible, and ethically grounded science. Priority objectives include detecting consciousness in minimally responsive patients to guide prognosis and treatment; improving understanding of consciousness in Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and delirium; investigating altered states in mental disorders; identifying sentience transitions under anesthesia and during recovery; advancing knowledge of sleep states and treatments for sleep disorders; exploring non-sensory visual perception to deepen mental health insights; evaluating therapeutic effects of consciousness-modulating interventions such as meditation, hypnosis, and neurostimulation; and applying New Approach Methodologies to study human consciousness.
This opportunity is assigned to CFDA 93.213 (Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health) and CFDA 93.476 (Complementary and Integrative Health—Research Centers). The funding instruments, award amounts, period of performance, and other operational details have not yet been released in the forecast notice.
Forecast synopsis
This Funding Opportunity will establish the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Network to Guide Foundational Research on Human Consciousness, leveraging a trans-NIH collaboration of 14 Institutes, Centers, and Offices dedicated to reducing the burden of nervous system disorders. Consciousness is central to numerous serious biomedical conditions, including coma, delirium, dementia, traumatic brain injury, stroke, sleep disorders, metabolic disorders, and seizures - conditions central to NIH's biomedical mission. Yet the neural mechanisms that support conscious states remain insufficiently understood, limiting clinicians' ability to diagnose and treat patients effectively. Advancing foundational science on human consciousness will strengthen clinical decision-making and improve outcomes for patients with costly and hard-to-treat neurologic and systemic illnesses by:
- Detecting consciousness in minimally responsive patients to guide prognosis, treatment, and ethical decisions (e.g., organ harvesting).
- Improving understanding of consciousness in Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and delirium.
- Investigating altered states in mental disorders to inform treatments.
- Identifying sentience and state transitions under anesthesia and during recovery.
- Advancing knowledge of sleep states and improving treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders.
- Exploring non-sensory visual perception (e.g., hallucinations, aphantasia) to deepen insight into mental health.
- Evaluating therapeutic effects of consciousness-modulating interventions such as meditation, hypnosis, and neurostimulation.
- Applying New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to study human consciousness.
Despite its importance, biomedical research on consciousness lacks shared standards, resulting in fragmented efforts and limiting understanding of underlying neurocircuitry. To accelerate rigorous, reproducible, and ethically grounded research, this initiative will create a national interdisciplinary Research Network to strengthen and integrate consciousness-related neuroscience, rather than support discrete, hypothesis-driven projects. The Network will develop coordination frameworks, standards, and infrastructure, uniting expertise from neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, psychology, anesthesiology, sleep and meditation research, computational science, AI, bioethics, and philosophy.
The Network's goal is capacity building: developing and providing needed research resources to advance understanding of the neural mechanisms supporting conscious states. It will lead planning and consensus-building activities to:
- Harmonize operational definitions across consciousness research.
- Identify research settings, model systems, and experimental designs with the greatest potential.
- Evaluate indicators and measures of consciousness for diverse scientific approaches.
- Determine which measures best reflect preserved or perturbed neurobiological function.
- Address essential ethical considerations.
To strengthen U.S. leadership and cultivate a highly trained workforce, the Network will provide interdisciplinary cross-training opportunities, such as workshops and visiting scholar programs, not feasible in siloed environments. This initiative will create resources that enable rigorous biomedical research on the neural mechanisms of conscious states, aligning with NIH's strategic priorities to improve population health and well-being.
Eligibility
Other Eligible ApplicantsIndian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized);Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government;U.S. Territory or Possession;Faith-based or Community-based Organizations;Regional Organizations
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