# Priority Programme "Sensing LOOPS: Cortico-subcortical Interactions for Adaptive Sensing" (SPP 2411)

**Funder:** DFG
**Deadline:** 3 February 2027 (Registration in elan portal required by 27 January 2027)
**Duration:** 3 years
**Consortium:** Optional — tandem projects across groups for cross-sensory comparisons are encouraged but not required
**Application:** Single stage: proposal submission via elan portal
**Frequency:** One-off
**Eligible countries:** DE
**Official call:** https://www.dfg.de/en/news/news-topics/announcements-proposals/2026/ifr-26-64
**Last updated:** 6 Sept 2026

## Eligibility & scope

Call for the second three-year funding period of a Priority Programme studying cortico-subcortical loops in adaptive sensing in mammals. Projects must study/model corticofugal connections and microcircuit-level neuronal activity in awake mammals; non-mammalian model systems and purely anatomical or disease-focused studies are excluded.

## Summary

DFG's Priority Programme SPP 2411 funds three-year research projects on cortico-subcortical interactions underlying adaptive sensing in awake mammals, as the second funding phase of a six-year programme. It is open to researchers at German institutions studying functional neuronal activity, not purely anatomical mapping, across at least two interacting brain structures, with single-group and tandem (experimental-theoretical or cross-modality) projects both eligible. Disease models, knock-outs, and non-mammalian systems are explicitly excluded.

## Who should apply

- Researchers at institutions in Germany working on systems or computational neuroscience
- Investigators studying awake mammalian models, not disease or knock-out systems
- Groups measuring or modelling functional neuronal activity across multiple interacting brain structures
- Single labs or tandem teams pairing sensory modalities or experimental and theoretical approaches

## Key dates

- Proposal deadline: 3 February 2027, single-stage submission via elan portal
- First-time applicants must register in elan by 27 January 2027
- Three-year funding period (second phase of a six-year programme)

## Tips for applicants

- Emphasize functional measurement or modelling of activity across at least two interacting structures, purely anatomical or single-structure proposals will not fit the call's scope.
- Consider pairing with a theoretical or cross-modality tandem partner, which the programme encourages even though single-group projects remain eligible.
- Register in the elan portal well before the 27 January 2027 deadline, since first-time applicants must complete this step separately from proposal submission using form 53.01.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does the DFG SPP 2411 grant fund?

It funds three-year projects studying cortico-subcortical loops in adaptive sensing in awake mammals, requiring functional measurement or modelling of neuronal activity across at least two interacting brain structures.

### Can I submit a single-group project to SPP 2411, or is a consortium required?

Single-group projects are eligible; tandem projects pairing sensory modalities or experimental and theoretical groups are encouraged but not required.

### Who can apply to SPP 2411?

Applicants must be based at institutions in Germany and submit via the DFG elan portal using form 53.01; first-time applicants must register in elan by 27 January 2027.

### What research is excluded from SPP 2411?

Disease or knock-out models and non-mammalian systems are excluded, as are purely anatomical studies without functional measurement or modelling.

### How long does SPP 2411 funding last?

This call covers the second three-year funding period of the six-year Priority Programme.

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Source: [The Great Grantsby](https://grantsby.eu/grants/dfg-priority-programme-sensing-loops-cortico-subcortic-2027-02) — EU grant monitoring for academic researchers. Always verify details on the funder's website before applying.

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