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Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): The Neural Mechanisms of Multi-Dimensional Emotional and Social Representation

National Institutes of Health

NIMH is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to outline priorities for research that incorporates a multi-dimensional perspective into studies of the neural mechanisms underlying emotional and/or social representations. The ability to integrate a broad array of emotional and social information is impaired in many mental disorders, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these processes are not well understood. This NOSI encourages studies in humans and animals investigating how diverse multi-dimensional emotional and/or social cues are represented across brain circuits that are important for mental health relevant cognitive, social, and affective behavioral functions. The term “multi-dimensional” refers to the consideration of multiple modalities (e.g., social, emotional, visual, and auditory), the effects of complex contexts and development, and/or dynamic processes that unfold over a variety of temporal scales.

This NOSI encourages research that will support Strategic Goals 1 and 2 of the NIMH strategic plan for research by: 1) identifying neurobiological mechanisms and precise spatio-temporal interactions across brain networks that contribute to emotional and/or social behaviors, 2) determining the normative neurodevelopmental trajectories involved in processing multi-modal emotional and/or social cues, and 3) determining how disruptions in neurodevelopment or dysfunctions in neurobiological systems contribute to alterations in the emotional and/or social behaviors associated with mental health and mental illnesses.

NIMH encourages research studies in animals and humans that incorporate behavioral paradigms capable of assessing the normal and maladaptive integration of multi-dimensional emotional or social information. This NOSI prioritizes experimental designs that include paradigms with more than one modality. Emotional and social experiences are not static: stimuli and contexts vary over time, and social interactions involve give and take between individuals. NIMH is interested in projects that account for social-emotional representation changes over time. Finally, both neurodevelopment and prior experience can affect the interpretation of emotional and social situations. Therefore, investigations of the relationship between typical and atypical brain neurodevelopmental trajectories and emotional and/or social processing are also of interest.

To shed light on the neural circuits involved in processing the complex emotional and/or social world, NIMH encourages studies in animals and humans that extend beyond region-based, modular, static models of neurophysiological function and mental health relevant behaviors. Of particular interest, are studies that include analyses to unveil how emotional and/or social representations arise from coordinated and dynamic patterns of neural activity across large scale neural networks. NIMH is interested in state-of-the-art methods and computational modeling approaches to examine complex interactions across brain networks and determine how precise spatiotemporal patterns of activity give rise to integrated, flexible emotional and/or social behaviors relevant to mental health and mental illnesses.

This notice applies to due dates on or after January 25, 2023 and subsequent receipt dates through January 8, 2025.

NOT-MH-23-120