The NIH is requesting information to gain feedback, comments, and novel ideas from members of the scientific community to help identify the needs and priorities of research on how the interaction between sleep and emotion regulation influences health and a variety of disease processes. This information will be used to plan future activities and initiatives that can enhance the research in this area. Feedback on robust biomedical, behavioral, and neurophysiological mechanistic approaches to improve precise, novel targets for sleep and circadian interventions is requested.

NIH invites input from the scientific community, including but not limited to researchers and trainees across academia, industry, and government; health care providers, healthcare professional organizations and patient advocacy organizations; small businesses and the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry; nongovernmental, scientific, and professional organizations; and Federal agencies. Additional stakeholders representing other segments of the American public are also invited to submit comments related to this research. Organizations are strongly encouraged to submit a single response that reflects the views of their organization and membership as a whole.

How to Submit a Response

Responses must be received by 11:59 pm ET on February 28th, 2022, to be considered. You will see an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response.

Responses are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously. Please do not include any personally identifiable or other information that you do not wish to make public. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. NIH will use all information submitted in response to this RFI Notice at its discretion and will not provide comments to any responder’s submission. NIH may use information gathered by this RFI Notice to inform the development of future funding opportunity announcements and/or in any resultant solicitations.

This RFI Notice is for information and planning purposes only and should not be interpreted as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government and/or the NIH. No monetary awards will be made to pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the Government’s use of such information. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or from the Government’s use of such information.

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* 1. Name:

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* 2. Email:

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* 3. Organization Type:

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* 4. Organization Name:

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* 5. Role:

Information Requested

We are requesting input on the challenges and research needs that can best be addressed through a concerted and coordinated effort to enhance research and development on how the interaction of sleep disturbances and emotional regulation impact physiological processes implicated in health and health conditions such as but not limited to hormonal changes associated with puberty or menopause, cancer, coronary heart and pulmonary disease, metabolic disorders, substance use, and alcohol use disorder, neurological disorders, and mental health disorders. Specifically, respondents are asked to provide input on any of the following:

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* 6. Methods, tools, or other research resources needed to characterize the mechanistic link between sleep and emotion regulation to understand how their interaction affects various organ systems, how it promotes health across the lifespan, and how it plays a role in the origins and outcomes of diseases and disorders.

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* 7. Novel targets that inform biomedical, behavioral, and psychosocial interventions at the intersection between sleep, affect, and emotion regulation for prevention and treatment of various disease conditions to impact health, quality of life, and disease outcomes.

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* 8. Examples and mechanistic approaches to study how environmental factors, health disparities, and social determinants of health (see NIMHD framework) affect sleep and emotion regulation across the lifespan and in different health conditions, including methods to ensure study samples are representative of diverse populations

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* 9. Other factors (genetic predispositions, lifestyle habits including diet and exercise behavior, comorbid conditions such as alcohol and substance use, sex, age, social isolation, environmental vulnerabilities) that may impact the interaction between sleep and emotion regulation.

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* 10. Any other topics that NIH should consider in furthering research on identifying mechanistic approaches and intervention targets linking sleep and emotion regulation across a broad range of health outcomes.

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