(Formerly IFCN-1)

[NMB Roster]

The Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior [NMB] Study Section reviews applications on the neural basis of behavior, such as motivation and emotion. Studies include the molecular, cellular, anatomical, genetic and neurobiological bases of motivated and emotional behavior. Emphasis is on the neuronal circuits critical to the mediation of positively and negatively motivated behavior.

Specific areas covered by NMB:

• Positively motivated behaviors; neural substrates [e.g., signaling molecules, channels, transporters, receptors, transmitters, neurons] involved in the mediation of drug and other types of reward; circuits [e.g., mesolimbic, mesocortical-thalamic] important in the mediation of reward and craving; mechanisms of tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and sensitization; as well as predisposing factors [genetic, developmental, and environmental] leading to drug seeking and relapse
  
   
• Stress, fear, anxiety, aggression; critical molecules [e.g., receptors, transmitters, hormones, transporters, channels, signaling molecules] involved in the mediation of negatively motivated behavior; circuits [e.g., hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, locus coereleus, prefrontal cortex] important in the mediation of such behavior; mechanisms of habituation and sensitization leading to altered responsiveness to stressful and aversive stimuli; and predisposing factors [genetic, developmental, and environmental] that may shape such behavior 
  
  
• Feeding, drinking, sexual and other consummatory behavior; critical molecules [e.g., receptors, transmitters, hormones, transporters, channels, signaling molecules] involved in the mediation of such behavior; limbic and related circuits important in the mediation of such behavior; mechanisms of plasticity; and predisposing factors [genetic, developmental, and environmental] which may shape such behavior; social behavior 
  
  
• Exogenous influences on neurobiological processes; causes, correlates and consequences [including neuroadaptation] of the effects of exposure to exogenous agents, neuropsychoactive drugs, or trauma at any stage across the life span that focus on analysis of the organization, structure and/or function of the mature nervous systems, rather than on fundamental processes involved in neural induction, specification or differentiation
  
  
• Neurobiological actions of psychoactive/psychotherapeutic agents; molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs on behavior; neuroanatomical circuitry mediating the behavioral effects of psychotherapeutic drugs; influence of genetic manipulations, perinatal manipulations, gender and environment on the behavioral actions of psychoactive drugs

NMB has the following shared interests within the IFCN IRG:

• NMB has shared interests with NNB. Applications focused primarily on the neural mechanisms of behavior are appropriate for NMB, while applications focused primarily on HPA axis and neuroimmune systems are more appropriate for NNB.
  
  
• In general, studies of nociception/pain are reviewed by SCS. SCS should also review applications where the neural basis of motivation and emotion is studied in the context of smell and taste function and where specific knowledge of these systems is essential for review.
  
  
• Studies of the structural and functional bases of motivational and emotional behavior are appropriate for NMB, but research on the influence of emotional and motivational processes on learning and memory should be reviewed in LAM. 
  
  
• With NAL regarding the interaction of alcohol and toxicants and CNS function. NAL is more appropriate when the primary focus is on alcohol or toxicant pathophysiology, but NMB should be considered if the focus is on the effects of other substances on the neural substrates of motivational behavior.

NMB has the following shared interests outside the IFCN IRG:

• With the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes [BBBP] IRG: Applications with a primary research focus on behavioral consequences rather than their neurobiological mechanisms are more appropriate for a study section in the BBBP IRG. 
  
  
• With the Endocrinology, Metabolism, Nutrition and Reproductive Sciences [EMNR] IRG:  Applications involving the central nervous system with a focus on metabolic homeostasis or causes of obesity are areas of shared interest with EMNR and could be referred to the EMNR IRG when end points relate primarily to cellular or systemic metabolic phenotypes or energy balance; and to NMB when the focus is on the neural basis of ingestive behaviors or satiety.
  
  
• With the Renal and Urological Sciences [RUS] IRG: Applications focusing on the central nervous system dealing with thirst as a motivated behavior could be assigned to NMB. Applications focusing on the central nervous system regulation of renal function could be assigned to RUS IRG.
  
  
• With the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience [MDCN] IRG: The MCDN IRG may be more appropriate for studies of signal transduction and related processes that occur within the context of a cell, with particular emphasis on cell electrophysiology, molecular biophysics, and neurochemical pathways. NMB may be more appropriate for studies in the context of integrated circuits, systems, and behavior. Developmental studies directed at understanding the effects of early experience on motivated and emotional behavior would be within the purview of NMB.
  
  
• With the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience [BDCN] IRG: There are shared interests between the BDCN IRG and NMB in the neurobiological bases of motivated behaviors. If an application focuses on a clinical population or a model of a disease state, it could be assigned to the BDCN IRG. If the application deals with understanding underlying neurobiological processes, it could be assigned to NMB.