ABCD — Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
Overview
The ABCD Study is a longitudinal multisite study of brain development and child health in the United States, and as of 2024 the largest of its kind. Launched in 2015 and funded by the NIH across 17 institutes and offices including the NIH BRAIN Initiative, it recruited approximately 10,000 children aged 9–10 at 21 research sites and follows them into early adulthood. It is a widely used open resource for studying the biological, social, and environmental factors shaping brain development during adolescence.
Data
Each annual visit includes multimodal MRI (structural T1/T2, resting-state fMRI, diffusion MRI), cognitive and behavioural assessments, mental health screening, substance use, physical activity, genetics, and wearable accelerometry. Imaging data are formatted in BIDS. Data are released annually with a one-year embargo.
Access
Data are distributed through the NIMH Data Archive (NDA), which requires a Data Use Certification. Genetic data and additional sensitive variables are also accessible via dbGaP. There is no cost to access.
Connections
- registeredIn: NIMH Data Archive
- registeredIn: dbGaP
- implements: BIDS
- fundedBy: NIH BRAIN Initiative
Resources
- https://abcdstudy.org
- https://nda.nih.gov/abcd (data access portal)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2018.03.001 (Volkow et al. 2018 — study design)