ABCD Study Announces Fast Track Data Release

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (www.abcdstudy.org), the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, has partnered with the NIMH Data Archive (NDA) to share ABCD Study data with the public on an ongoing basis.

This inaugural data release contains unprocessed neuroimaging data from participants aged 9-10 years old, as well as basic participant demographics (age, sex), including:

  • High-resolution structural data (3D T1 - and T2-weighted scans)
  • Advanced diffusion MRI (multiple b-values and directions)
  • Resting State fMRI
  • Task fMRI (Monetary Incentive Delay, Stop-Signal, and Emotional N-Back), along with raw E-Prime task files for each fMRI run

Neuroimaging data were collected using a harmonized Human Connectome protocol, developed for the ABCD Study, and supported across all three major MRI scanner platforms (Siemens, General Electric, and Philips). The data in this release are in DICOM format as provided by the MRI scanners and have not undergone quality control or curation. As such, the fast track data are most suitable for technical methods development (e.g., scanner harmonization), as the DICOM images would require pre-processing (e.g., distortion correction, movement correction, alignment) to be suitable for data analysis. Curated data, including all assessment domains and computational analysis pipelines, will be released annually through NDA, starting in December 2017.

The ABCD Study is designed to include a diverse population that reflects the demographics of the U.S., however these interim data may not capture that diversity as enrollment is not yet complete.