Pathophysiological Basis of Mental Disorders – PMD
NOTE: Starts with the October 2026 Council round submission dates (Cycle I due dates). This study section was evaluated as part of CSR’s ENQUIRE process to align study sections with advances in science. Learn more about ENQUIRE.
The PMD Study Section reviews applications that use in vitro and animal models to investigate the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurological disorders and the biological systems that mediate cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social and learning abnormalities. The emphasis is on an integrative biological systems understanding of the abnormalities using a wide range of molecular, genetic, biochemical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, cellular, behavioral and neuroanatomical methods. PMD also reviews applications using human tissues when the emphasis is on molecular outcomes.
Review Dates
A roster for the panel will be posted here, at least 30 days prior to the review meeting
Topics
- Psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, mood, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders.
- Behavioral disorders including phobias, antisocial personality, obsessive-compulsive and attention deficit disorders.
- Neurobiology of psychiatric manifestations in neurological disorders and chromosomal abnormalities.
- Models of neurobiological and behavioral processes and deficits that are core features of neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Neurobiological and behavioral consequences of allelic variations associated with mental disorders and their investigations in model systems.
- Genomic, genetic, epigenetic, proteomic and metabolomic studies.
Shared Interests and Overlaps
There are shared interests in childhood mental disorders/developmental psychiatric disabilities [schizophrenia] with Developmental Brain Disorders (DBD), and Neural Basis of Psychopathology, Addictions and Sleep Disorders (NPAS). Applications that emphasize mechanistic molecular and animal studies in this area are reviewed in PMD. Human subject applications that emphasize developmental psychiatric disabilities are reviewed in DBD. Applications that focus on human studies in these areas are reviewed in NPAS.
Molecular and Cellular Substrates of Complex Brain Disorders Special Emphasis Panel [ZRG1 MDCN-P (57)] and PMDA have shared interests. Applications submitted in response to PAR-17-309 (R01) and PAR-17-310, “Cellular and Molecular Biology of Complex Brain Disorders” and applications in conflict with PMD are assigned to ZRG1 MDCN-P (57).
Developmental Brain Disorders (DBD) and PMD have shared interests in studies focused on developmental aspects of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, with regard to developmental aspects.
There are shared interests in psychiatric disorders with Molecular Cellular Neuropharmacology (MCNP). Applications that emphasize the broad spectrum of issues related to mental disorders using in vitro and in vivo approaches and a variety of methods, including cellular and molecular techniques are reviewed in PMD. Applications involving mechanisms of psychiatric disorders at the cellular and molecular level – including “-omics” data analysis are reviewed in MCNP
