An “unparalleled dataset” is providing high-quality information on the many factors that influence brain, cognitive, social, and emotional development in children.
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, involving > 7,500 children aged between 9 and 10 years and their families, is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the US. Interim results on about 30 terabytes of data (3 times the size of the Library of Congress collection) obtained from the first 4,500 participants will allow scientists to begin analyzing and publishing novel research, according to Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Researchers will be able to examine many aspects of growth and development, such as the impact of sports injuries on developmental outcomes, the relationship between screen time and brain and social development, and which brain pathways are associated with the onset and progression of mental health disorders.
The study aims to enroll 11,500 children by the end of 2018. Participants will be followed for 10 years, with data collected every 6 months through interviews and behavioral testing. Neuroimaging data, including high resolution MRI, are collected every 2 years.