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NYS Office of Mental Health

2340 ? Affirmative Business/Industry (Non-Licensed Program) An ABI is a self-sustaining business or cooperative that is owned and operated by an OMH provider (such as a small retail or wholesale outlet, or manufacturing and service-oriented business). An ABI provides integrated, competitive, employment opportunities for individuals with serious mental illness along with mental health supports onsite. These businesses provide integrated, competitive, employment opportunities for individuals with serious mental illness. The OMH funding is for the mental health supports* needed for the person to be successful at the job. *Supports may include assisting someone in interpreting and responding appropriately to interpersonal situations at work, or learning to cope with mental health symptoms to enhance their work performance. Financial/Benefits Counseling may be provided. Care should be taken to ensure policies exist to separate the provision of mental health support from work supervision. Note: An agency that operates a Personalized Recovery Oriented Services program (PROS) is not eligible to operate an Affirmative Business/Industry (ABI). A PROS cannot bill for employment services for individuals enrolled in an ABI. The goal of supported employment is for individuals to work a minimum of 10 hours per week in an integrated, competitive job, with leeway for absence due to illness, vacation, or temporary work stoppages. See Glossary for definitions of "Competitive Employment" and "Integrated Employment". To be considered employed part time, participants should be scheduled to work a minimum of 10 hours each week. Units of Service: Count the total number of Consumer hours.

Administration for Children and Families - OCS

<p>The Office of Community Services (OCS) intends to fund Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and tribes that received FY25 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) awards and own affordable housing units.&nbsp;</p><p>The purpose of the AHSSD is to demonstrate the potential for improving housing stability, economic mobility, and well-being by boosting public welfare and support service enrollment for residents of affordable housing who are American citizens.&nbsp; AHSSD does this by improving the coordination of public and private assistance programs to prevent and reduce dependency among this population cohort. Recipients will offer direct provision of specific public welfare and support services, internal referrals to assistance programs, external referrals to programming offered through other agencies, and/or case management and human-services coordination. Recipients must also provide services to eligible residents who live in affordable housing units.</p><p>The range of service enrollment is broad, including educational opportunities for children and adults; afterschool and/or summer programs for children and teens; direct provision of childcare programs/opportunities for children ages 0 to 5 or connections to Head Start and Early Head Start programs; older adult care services; mental health, alcohol, and addiction services; services for Americans and eligible residents with disabilities; self-sufficiency resources; resources on homeownership; financial literacy training; transportation services for residents; referrals and connections to resources to help meet concrete needs; and healthcare services.</p>

Administration for Children and Families - OCS

The Office of Community Services (OCS) intends to fund Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and tribes that received FY25 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) awards and own affordable housing units. The purpose of the AHSSD is to demonstrate the potential for improving housing stability, economic mobility, and well-being by boosting public welfare and support service enrollment for residents of affordable housing who are American citizens. AHSSD does this by improving the coordination of public and private assistance programs to prevent and reduce dependency among this population cohort. Recipients will offer direct provision of specific public welfare and support services, internal referrals to assistance programs, external referrals to programming offered through other agencies, and/or case management and human-services coordination. Recipients must also provide services to eligible residents who live in affordable housing units.The range of service enrollment is broad, including educational opportunities for children and adults; afterschool and/or summer programs for children and teens; direct provision of childcare programs/opportunities for children ages 0 to 5 or connections to Head Start and Early Head Start programs; older adult care services; mental health, alcohol, and addiction services; services for Americans and eligible residents with disabilities; self-sufficiency resources; resources on homeownership; financial literacy training; transportation services for residents; referrals and connections to resources to help meet concrete needs; and healthcare services.

NIA - National Institute on Aging

Project Summary/Abstract As the frequency, prevalence, and severity of extreme weather events and disasters increase, the long- term and life course consequences on the older population in the US of experiencing cyclones, heat waves, droughts, floods, and wildfires grows in terms of its significance for research, policy, and population well-being. Of particular urgency is developing a better understanding of the effects of disasters exposures and post-disas- ter experiences on disparities in well-being over the older life course years, on levels and differentials in health and mortality, and for policies aimed at mitigating long-term consequences of disasters. A predominant focus of the literature addressing disaster effects on health and well-being is the period in the immediate aftermath of the event. Much is known about short-term effects on mortality, mental health, displacement, living arrange- ments, and recovery. For subsequent post-disaster years, however, there is a dearth of data sources, and hence of population-level empirical research, on individual outcomes, especially among the elderly population. Key issues that remain uninvestigated include whether disaster effects are fleeting, whether they have long- term negative consequences, or whether individuals may actually be better off. This project will build on a ma- jor investment we have made to create a linked data source for addressing the medium- and long-run effects of Hurricane Katrina on the pre-disaster population of New Orleans. We will use these new linked data to exam- ine living arrangements, well-being, and mortality among the older population of New Orleans aged 60-plus years in the period following Hurricane Katrina. Using within-New Orleans comparisons along with an external counterfactual comparison group, we will address two aims. First, we will examine how exposure to Hurricane Katrina for the older New Orleans population affected long-term trajectories of living arrangements and resi- dential neighborhood attainment compared to the counterfactual comparison group. Second, we will examine post-Katrina mortality and disability disparities within the older New Orleans population by race, pre-Katrina social and economic characteristics, hurricane impact, and post-disaster experiences. This is a novel and ex- ploratory project to establish a general and broadly-applicable approach to studying the effects of disasters on the older population using linked census and administrative data. It will also make significant substantive con- tributions by combining stress and social vulnerability theories to generate and evaluate testable hypotheses about the effects of pre-disaster socioeconomic resources and disaster exposure on key health and well-being outcomes among the older New Orleans population. The project will set the stage for future replications for other disasters as well as for a variety of enhancements and extensions in order to answer pressing questions on the consequences of disasters on the health and well-being of the older US population.

NINR - National Institute of Nursing Research

PROJECT SUMMARY There are over 177,000 women detained in U.S. jails and prisons on any day and another 800,000 serving sentences in the community under custodial supervision. About 20% of women with criminal legal system involvement (CLSI) are age 50 or older. Rates of women and older adults have both risen dramatically in recent decades, 700% and 280%, respectively. For many women, incarceration and probation are profoundly stressful experiences, often overlapping with other life circumstances—trauma and abuse, homelessness, substance use, mental illness—that disrupt women's support systems and health services access. Many women who experience CLSI also do so repeatedly, cycling in and out of incarceration and probation over many years. The toll on health can be profound. CLSI is associated with disproportionately high rates of many chronic and infectious diseases and early mortality in women of all ages and is hypothesized to lead to acceleration of aging-related conditions. Most of what we know about the health of older women (age 50 and older) with CLSI is extrapolated from the groups of older men and younger women. We lack an understanding of how CLSI functions as a social determinant for aging-related health in the group, including how much, when, and in conjunction with what other factors over the life course experiences of incarceration and probation contribute. We also know almost nothing about the health in aging attitudes, goals, self-efficacy, and experiences of community-dwelling older women with CLSI. The objective of the Aging-Related Health and Aging Acceleration in Older Women with Criminal Legal System Involvement Study (AGELIS) is to fill critical gaps in our knowledge about how CLSI functions as a life course social determinant and what women with CLSI mean by and want from health in aging. Closing such gaps is crucial in moving the field toward intervention readiness and ultimately improved health outcomes. The specific aims of AGELIS are to (a) establish relationships between the health in aging construct, functional ability, life course factors, and CLSI in older women with CLSI, compared with a matched comparison group in the Health and Retirement Study and (b) characterize attitudes, goals, self-efficacy and experiences of health in aging in older women with CLSI using semi-structured interviews and ethnographic case study. In partnership with a community research team, we will bring results from the two aims together in an integrated model of health in aging with CLSI. AGELIS will provide an empirical and experiential basis for subsequent intervention design and point the way forward for investigation in aging with other groups that experience significant life course stress.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

The AI-Facilitated Partner Communication for PrEP study aims to enhance HIV prevention among women by empowering them with skills to discuss pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with male sexual partners. Existing PrEP interventions rarely address the complex barriers to partner communication that influence PrEP uptake. This R34 proposal aims to develop and pilot a Virtual Practice Environment (VPE) using large language models (LLMs) to simulate realistic conversations that allow women to practice PrEP communication strategies in a supportive, risk-free setting. This study offers an innovative, scalable approach to strengthening PrEP implementation efforts by addressing partner-level barriers.

National Institutes of Health

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) seeks research applications to support the NIMH HIV/AIDS Research Centers (ARC) program, including Developmental Centers (D-ARCs) and full AIDS Research Centers (ARCs). These Research Centers aim to capitalize on the coordinated infrastructure to advance high-impact, interdisciplinary HIV/AIDS research. The ARC program supports innovative research across basic, neuro-HIV, behavioral and social, clinical, translational, implementation science, and data science domains. Centers are expected to foster scientific collaboration, accelerate innovation, and strengthen dissemination of research advances to implementing agencies, affected communities, and other stakeholders. Applications should align with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) Strategic Plan, and the NIMH Strategic Plan for HIV research. Applications are not being solicited at this time. This notice is being issued to provide potential applicants with ample time to develop strong, collaborative, and responsive project plans. Research teams that have expertise in establishing and sustaining collaborations with academic institutions, community partners, government agencies, industry, and other scientific networks to enhance the impact of Center-supported activities are encouraged to apply to this NOFO.

National Institutes of Health

<p>The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) seeks research applications to support the NIMH HIV/AIDS Research Centers (ARC) program, including Developmental Centers (D-ARCs) and full AIDS Research Centers (ARCs). These Research Centers aim to capitalize on the coordinated infrastructure to advance high-impact, interdisciplinary HIV/AIDS research. The ARC program supports innovative research across basic, neuro-HIV, behavioral and social, clinical, translational, implementation science, and data science domains. Centers are expected to foster scientific collaboration, accelerate innovation, and strengthen dissemination of research advances to implementing agencies, affected communities, and other stakeholders.</p><p>&nbsp;Applications should align with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) Strategic Plan, and the NIMH Strategic Plan for HIV research. Applications are not being solicited at this time. This notice is being issued to provide potential applicants with ample time to develop strong, collaborative, and responsive project plans. Research teams that have expertise in establishing and sustaining collaborations with academic institutions, community partners, government agencies, industry, and other scientific networks to enhance the impact of Center-supported activities are encouraged to apply to this NOFO.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

National Institutes of Health

AIDS Research Center on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS (P30 Clinical Trial Optional)

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Abstract Neurodevelopmental and neurological and mood disorders manifest a high prevalence in modern society and a marked sex bias, but their etiology remain poorly understood, hampering our efforts for their prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Although genome-wide association studies in the last two decades have greatly advanced our knowledge of the genetic basis for these conditions, identified candidate genes and their genetic variations only explain a small percentage of clinical cases. This divergence is dramatically illustrated by autism and schizophrenia, whose heritability is close to 80%, but for which genetic factors account for less than 20% of clinical cases. To identify new contributors to the etiology of these and related neurodevelopmental conditions, we propose that alterations in thyroid hormone states during development, which may occur due to environmentally-driven epigenetic phenomena, maternal thyroid disease or exposure to endocrine disruptors, contribute to the generation of neurodevelopmental disease and fit two well-established but undefined components in their etiology: environmental influence via epigenetic alterations and sex bias. We hypothesize that changes in the allelic expression and gene dosage of the imprinted gene Dio3, which controls thyroid hormone action in the developing central nervous system, leads to neurological deficits, affecting gene expression programs in the developing brain, brain sexual differentiation, brain morphology and behavior of relevance to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. We will use transgenic mouse models with alteration in Dio3 and developmental thyroid hormone exposure to test these hypotheses in the following Specific Aims: (i) To determine the neurological impact of aberrant Dio3 allelic expression; (ii) To evaluate the role of full DIO3 deficiency and altered Dio3 allelic expression in brain sexual differentiation and associated disease-relevant behaviors with a sexual bias. By using a dynamic mouse model of epigenetic dysregulation of Dio3, we anticipate our project will demonstrate that modifications in brain thyroid hormone states during development exert a substantial effect on the gene expression programs of the central nervous system, ultimately leading to disease-relevant neurological deficits impacting corticogenesis, brain morphology and hydrocephalus, and behaviors related to depression, anxiety, sociability, hyperactivity, sexual activity and reward. We ultimately expect that epigenetic markers and dysregulation of the Dio3 gene, and the changes in thyroid hormone status associated with them, can be used as evidence of exposures to thyroid hormone earlier in life and be utilized as predictors of susceptibility to neurodevelopmental conditions.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY Despite the broad use of antibody tools, their reliability and scalability remain major challenges for reproducible cellular and anatomical profiling in large tissue volumes, such as whole-mouse and human brains. In this project, we propose to develop an AI-assisted platform for recombinant antibody resources that meets the high standards required to advance brain research. By integrating our teams' complementary expertise in AI algorithms, structural analysis, antibody validation, and brain imaging, we aim to create a synergistic technical and resource platform for curating recombinant antibody tools, establishing a new paradigm for antibody applications in brain research. As part of the BICCN/BICAN effort, we have validated an extensive collection of commercial and open- source monoclonal antibodies using a high-content screening pipeline, providing a strong experimental foundation for recombinant antibody curation. However, the current experimental approach has limitations in efficiently selecting and prioritizing thousands of monoclonal antibody sequences for cost-effective conversion and validation. It also relies solely on existing sequences without effective optimization or design using structural information for diverse applications. Our integrated approach, leveraging our expertise in AI-based protein structure prediction, modeling, and simulation, will analyze antibody sequences to provide a comprehensive understanding of recombinant antibody structural properties, including antigen binding sites and affinities across target species. This will significantly accelerate the conversion and validation of recombinant antibodies. Additionally, we will continue refining our approach to enhance flexibility in optimizing and designing recombinant antibodies, tailoring them to specific epitopes and cross-species targets for diverse applications. We will also develop a curated database of recombinant antibody resource for easy reference and adaptation within the field. This database will include a comprehensive collection of validated recombinant antibodies, featuring their defined sequences, predicted antibody-antigen binding structures, 2D IHC data in mouse and human, and 3D whole mouse brain labeling datasets for key BICCN targets. To ensure broad accessibility, the database will be available through a user-friendly online portal. This integrated recombinant antibody platform, rAb-GenAI, will be open to incorporating advanced AI algorithms and continuously refined through iterative experimental feedback. Both our AI pipeline and recombinant antibody resource will be highly scalable and adaptable, maximizing cost efficiency to support consistent large-scale profiling, including human brain cohort mapping. Through this project, we aim to establish a new paradigm for antibody-based research, laying the foundation for brain-wide proteomic investigations across species and enabling studies on whole brain cellular and structural dynamics in health and disease.

American Psychological Foundation

Supports psychological research, education, and programs addressing mental health, behavioral health, and social issues.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a heterogenous structure that is strongly connected with the amygdala. Its subdivisions are critical for unique limbic and cognitive functions. The subgenual ACC (sgACC, Brodmann area 25/14c), implicated in major depression in humans, is a key node of the salience network and is important for arousal state modulation and valuation of sensory information. In contrast, the perigenual ACC (pgACC, Brodmann area 32/24b) is dorsal to the sgACC, and is important for cognitive functions including decision-making and conflict monitoring. Despite known functional differences in sgACC and pgACC, the main cortical and thalamic drivers of the ACC subregions are not fully understood in higher species. My preliminary data using paired injections in the same hemisphere indicates that sgACC afferent networks involve midline thalamic nuclei, insula, and medial wall inputs. In contrast, pgACC receives unique inputs from mediodorsal (MD) thalamus, orbital, and lateral PFC inputs (9/46) that carry information important for spatial and temporal localization of salient stimuli. These data indicate specific functional hubs in sgACC and pgACC. Despite evidence for discrete afferent networks to the sgACC and pgACC, the amygdala projects broadly to both. sgACC and pgACC inputs to the amygdala converge onto glutamatergic ‘hot spots’ in the basal and accessory basal nuclei, which in turn project back to the sgACC and pgACC. New molecular evidence indicates diverse glutamatergic neuronal phenotypes in the basal and accessory basal nucleus. We hypothesis a unique subtype comprises both the sgACC and pgACC projection. Recent preliminary evidence suggests that despite an apparently broad projection to the sgACC and pgACC, specialized glutamatergic neurons in specific amygdala subregions may be important in regulating these two regions. Aim 1 analyzes paired retrograde tracer injections in sgACC and pgACC in the same animal, and uses standard correlation and also unsupervised cluster analysis to identify cortical and thalamic afferent ensembles across the sgACC-pgACC trajectory. Aim 2A will define transcriptome shifts in neuron populations along the basal and accessory basal amygdala, beginning broadly and then focusing on glutamatergic neuron signatures using single-nucleus RNA sequencing. Spatially defined localizations of specific glutamatergic subtypes will be validated with in situ hybridization (RNAScope). Aim 2B will determine the molecular features of amygdala- sgACC and amygdala-pgACC projection neurons, following injections in Aim 1. These results will then be integrated with the results of cortical-thalamic input networks for comprehensive analysis of sgACC and pgACC connectivity. This research is part of a comprehensive training plan with direct mentorship in experimental design, techniques, field knowledge, scientific writing and career development, supported by my Sponsors, my Collaborator, and their respective institutions (URMC, Emory, and Wake Forest).

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Project Summary There is clear evidence that early intervention benefits autistic children’s short- and long-term development. However, the rising autism prevalence is overwhelming the public health system’s capacity. As a result, many autistic children cannot access timely diagnostic and intervention services. Self-directed telehealth interventions (i.e., online programs that parents can complete via computer, tablet, or mobile device, without provider coaching or feedback) offer parents a way to gain evidence-based strategies that they can implement with their children without having to navigate barriers such as long intervention waitlists and high cost. However, parent engagement with the program, and child outcomes, in existing self-directed interventions vary widely, and little is known about which families can benefit from low- vs. high-support interventions. The proposed sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) will evaluate an adaptive, parent- mediated, telehealth intervention that teaches basic principles of autism intervention with varied levels and types of support. 340 parent-child dyads will be initially randomized to either a self-directed intervention (OPT- In-Early) or OPT-In-Early with automated support. Parent engagement with OPT-In-Early and comprehension of intervention content will be monitored over a 1-month period. At that point, parents with “low engagement” (i.e., parents who either did not use the intervention or did not demonstrate learning of key concepts) will be re- randomized to either individual or group clinical support, with a goal of increasing engagement with the intervention and ultimately improving child outcomes. Multi-method, longitudinal assessments will be used to rigorously evaluate implementation and outcomes. Child outcomes will include assessment of key developmental domains that are impacted by autism. This research is significant because it will be the first time a self-directed telehealth intervention for autism is optimized for greatest engagement. This proposal is aligned with NIMH’s Strategic Plan Goal 4.2, to improve mental health by expediting adoption and implementation of an evidence-based intervention. This study will generate the evidence necessary to implement an adaptive intervention at-scale, thereby increasing the capacity of the existing public health system to offer tailored and cost-effective interventions to young autistic children and their families.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability, with substantial individual and societal costs. The heterogeneity of MDD and the lack of predictive tools for individualized treatment present significant challenges to effective care. This proposal aims to leverage recent advances in foundation models, a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that has demonstrated remarkable success in natural language processing, to develop a neuroimaging-based tool that can aid in prognostication, treatment stratification, and biotype discovery in MDD. Foundation models are pretrained on massive datasets, enabling them to learn generalizable features that can then be adapted to smaller, more specific datasets. This approach is ideally suited for psychiatric neuroimaging, where clinical datasets are scarce; however, non-clinical datasets like the Human Connectome Project and UK Biobank are extensive. I have developed a functional prototype by adapting a transformer architecture to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) time-series data and training it on the UK Biobank. Preliminary data generated using this prototype indicate strong potential for this approach. Applying this innovative technique to psychiatry holds great promise for advancing the understanding and treatment of MDD. To achieve this, I propose three specific aims. Aim 1: Use pooled fMRI data from individuals with MDD to fine-tune the pretrained model to decode depression severity and uncover MDD biotypes; Aim 2: Use pooled fMRI scans from longitudinal treatment data to fine-tune the pretrained model to predict antidepressant response and identify neural circuits of treatment response; Aim 3: Prospectively evaluate the performance of MRI-based treatment prediction models in a pilot clinical trial. If successful, this work will yield a novel neurocomputational framework for personalized treatment stratification and significantly advance our understanding of MDD neurobiology and heterogeneity. Through this research, training, and expert mentorship, I will gain expertise in: 1) AI foundation models, including transformer architectures and interpretability techniques; 2) applying foundation models to neuroimaging to generate clinically actionable predictions and mechanistic insights; 3) clinical trial design and analysis of longitudinal data; and 4) professional skills for transitioning to independence. The training plan—which includes coursework, workshops, close mentorship, and hands-on research experience—builds on my existing expertise in neuroimaging, network neuroscience, and clinical psychiatry. Stanford University offers an exceptional environment with access to cutting-edge computational resources, neuroimaging facilities, and a vibrant community of AI experts and clinician-scientists. In sum, through the K23 award, the proposed research, training, mentorship, and pilot data will enable me to successfully compete for independent research funding and establish a high-impact patient-oriented research program in neurocomputational psychiatry at the intersection of AI, neuroimaging, and precision treatment.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The K23 application proposes to examine learning and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying food approach in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) using computational methods and will position the applicant, Marita Cooper, Ph.D., to transition to research independence with expertise using computational modeling to examine mechanisms of restrictive eating disorders (ED) in youth. ARFID is the most prevalent ED in childhood, with sequelae including malnutrition, delayed growth, cardiac complications, and death. Early data suggest youth with ARFID exhibit executive functioning deficits, including weak central coherence and poor response inhibition. These data underly the hypothesis that youth with ARFID may be slow to learn food approach, impacting food intake, and requiring more exposure to novel foods for learning to occur. Knowledge of neurocognition and learning in ARFID is in its infancy, yet computational modeling offers an innovative approach to probe underlying processes and identify target mechanisms related to aberrant food approach. Two approaches with utility in other EDs, active inference and reinforcement learning, have not been applied to ARFID. The study will examine learning mechanisms and neurocognition of aberrant food approach in ARFID. We will recruit 99 youth (66 with ARFID, 33 controls) ages 8-18, matched on age and sex. Participants will complete a three-armed bandit task, assessing learning mechanisms (via food and neutral stimuli), and a meal-based buffet task assessing food approach (macronutrient and caloric intake). We will assess neurocognition, ED symptoms, and approach/ avoidance. Aim 1 hypothesizes that youth with ARFID will exhibit poorer performance (under both neutral and food conditions) than healthy controls and that worse performance will relate to overall intake during the buffet task. Aim 2 follows participants naturalistically, repeating assessments at 6- and 12-month follow-up. We will examine whether baseline performance predicts improvement in ARFID symptoms at follow-up. Aim 3 will compare whether active inference or reinforcement learning models best fit participant learning behavior. The project will be an important major step in developing a data-driven model of ARFID, providing critical information about potential drivers of aberrant food approach. The proposed project will support expert mentorship and training for Dr. Cooper including 1) learning and neurocognitive development in youth; 2) conducting and managing longitudinal research in clinical samples; and 3) practical skills in computational modeling transferrable to future research. The resources of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania and an expert team of mentors (with expertise in mechanisms of ARFID/restrictive ED, development, clinical research, and computational modeling) provide an outstanding context to launch Dr. Cooper’s career. Project findings are consistent with the NIMH strategic goal to identify validated targets for intervention and will inform a competitive R01 application examining computational learning mechanisms in a transdiagnostic sample of youth with restrictive ED.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Project Summary/Abstract Interval timing, the ability to estimate event durations on the scale of seconds to minutes, is crucial for adaptive behaviors. Prior work investigating the neural basis of interval timing has focused on brain circuits in the basal ganglia and frontal and parietal cortices. However, recent research, including our own, indicates that the entorhinal cortex (EC) also plays a key role in the learning of timing behavior. In our recent work, we have discovered "time cells" in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) that fire at fixed intervals, forming sequences crucial for timing behavior. In contrast, lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) neurons exhibit ramping activity over seconds to minutes as animals forage and/or perform spatial navigation tasks. This suggests distinct neural dynamics in the LEC and MEC for encoding elapsed time, hinting at different roles in timing behavior. A major limitation of this interpretation is that all LEC recordings to date have been from animals not engaged in active timing tasks, making it impossible to determine whether these neural correlates of ramping activity are actually involved in timing behavior or are simply a result of other task demands. To determine the functional roles of LEC and MEC in timing behavior, it is necessary to use tasks with explicit timing demands. Using a novel behavioral paradigm in which mice are trained to report non-matching stimuli durations, combined with neural recording and manipulation techniques, this proposal tests a model in which LEC and MEC function together to encode elapsed time and drive interval timing behavior. Specifically, we hypothesize that LEC encodes event boundaries through brief phasic activity, which then helps align sequential dynamics in MEC to these salient moments. In Aim 1, we will determine if LEC activity is necessary to align MEC time cell sequences and whether LEC activity is essential for learning timing behavior. In Aim 2, we will examine neural dynamics simultaneously in LEC and MEC during timing behavior to see if they function independently or in an integrated manner. Since interval timing is a fundamental component of nearly all major brain functions, understanding the cellular and circuit mechanisms of interval timing will provide a basis for understanding how the brain performs complex functions that depend on encoding time on the scale of seconds to minutes. This work also has the potential to guide the development of therapies targeting specific neural mechanisms in a wide range of diseases and psychiatric disorders that display altered temporal processing, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Schizophrenia.

National Institutes of Health

-Purpose. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a program announcement (PA) issued by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Eye Institute (NEI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The aim of this FOA is to invite applications to study angiogenesis in the nervous system. Specific areas of research this FOA seeks to encourage include study of the mechanisms controlling angiogenic responses to physiological and pathological stimuli, the development and patterning of nervous system vasculature, and the etiology of disorders affecting development and/or ongoing angiogenesis in nervous system vasculature. -Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the NIH Exploratory/Developmental (R21) grant mechanism and runs in parallel with a FOA of identical scientific scope, PA-08-015, that encourages applications under the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) award mechanism. Please note that NIMH is not participating in the companion R01 FOA. -Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Education Department

The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2025 funds for the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant program (MHSP).

Education Department

The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2025 funds for the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant program (SBMH).

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Project Summary/Abstract It is well established that inflammatory markers are increased in individuals with stress-related psychiatric disorders and can contribute to their pathology. However, we lack a thorough understanding of the circuits, receptors, and transcriptional mechanisms driving these inflammatory processes in the brain and how they might differ in males and females. Stress activates the canonical “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system, which uses noradrenaline as a neurotransmitter. Noradrenaline activates nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB), a master transcriptional regulator of inflammatory genes, to increase inflammation in peripheral immune cells. Stress also activates the locus coeruleus (LC), the primary source of noradrenaline in the brain. However, it is unknown whether the LC increases pro-inflammatory NFkB-mediated transcription in the hippocampus, a brain region that controls stress-related behaviors and is prone to stress-induced inflammatory processes. We found 1) 10 days of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) increases nuclear NFkB in the hippocampus of males and females, 2) overall levels of NFkB are higher in females compared to males, suggesting it might be primed to transcribe inflammatory transcripts more readily, 3) compared to female in metestrus, females in proestrus transcribe more genes known to regulated by NFkB, which might be because the female LC is particularly sensitive to the neuroendocrine stress response, which is active during proestrus, and 4) daily administration of the α1 adrenergic receptor (α1-AR) antagonist prazosin prior to daily CSDS prevents reductions in sociability normally caused by CSDS, a stress paradigm that increases pro-inflammatory effects in the hippocampus. We hypothesize that inhibiting α1-ARs promotes sociability by mitigating inflammatory processes normally caused by CSDS. Our central hypothesis is that stress-induced noradrenergic neurotransmission increases NFkB- mediated inflammatory transcription in the hippocampus to reduce sociability. In Aim 1, we will determine whether chemogenetically inhibiting the LC throughout stress mitigates NFkB-mediated transcription in the hippocampus of males and females. We predict that the inhibitory Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drug (DREADD), hM4D, in noradrenergic LC neurons will increase subsequent sociability in a social interaction paradigm and reduce the transcription of a pre-defined set of transcripts regulated by NFkB, which we will identify using RNA-sequencing in hippocampal tissue. In Aim 2, we will determine whether five days of systemic administration of the α1 adrenergic receptor agonist, cirazoline, is sufficient to drive NFkB-mediated transcription in hippocampal microglia in males and estrus cycle-tracked females in metestrus or proestrus. We predict that cirazoline will increase nuclear NFKB in hippocampal microglia and neurons and increase NFkB- mediated transcripts in hippocampal microglia, with the strongest effects in females in proestrus. This project is highly conducive to undergraduates, who have already demonstrated they can successfully complete most assays described in this proposal.

Art Room Denton (dba)

To support Arts for Veterans, a mental health support program for Denton County veterans consisting of structured art classes and open studio sessions.

Teatro Dallas (dba)

To support the English-language premiere of Lirica, a play set in South Texas about youth violence in schools, with structured talk-backs on mental health facilitated by a psychologist.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

Assertive Community Treatment