ABCD Study

ABCD Study Website

About the study

ABCD Study Team
The ABCD Study Team

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded leading researchers in the fields of adolescent development and neuroscience to conduct this ambitious project. The ABCD Research Consortium consists of a Coordinating Center, a Data Analysis, Informatics & Resource Center, and 21 research sites across the country, which have invited 11,880 children ages 9-10 to join the study. Researchers will track their biological and behavioral development through adolescence into young adulthood. Using cutting-edge technology, scientists will determine how childhood experiences (such as sports, video games, social media, unhealthy sleep patterns, and smoking) interact with each other and with a child’s changing biology to affect brain development and social, behavioral, academic, health, and other outcomes.

The results of the ABCD Study will provide families; school superintendents, principals, and teachers; health professionals; and policymakers with practical information to promote the health, well-being, and success of children.

Study Assessments

  • The study began with children between the ages of 8 and 9. The study conducts assessments with the same youth every year. The assessments alternate between MRI and non-MRI visit years. At the first, baseline, visit the youth completed self-report surveys, neurocognitive assessments, MRI and the study also collected biospecimens such as blood, saliva, and hair. A parent also completed self-report surveys about themselves and their youth. 
  • The MRI year visits take around 6-8 hours to complete, while the non-MRI year visits take around 2-3 hours. 
  • Between the annual assessments, there are “mid-years”, which are self-report surveys sent to the youth participants. 

Study Personnel

  • Principal Investigators: Monica Luciana PhD, Sylia Wilson PhD
  • Site Coordinator: Aaron Schroeder
  • Research Assistants: John Bogucki, Lyndsey Dorholt, Na’Jai Wilson, Carolyn Sackett
  • Undergraduate Research Assistants: Ariya Chaubey, Mariam Onafowokan, Liv Gergory
  • Neuro-Health Technicians: Micah Hammer, Jackson Beazley, Brynn Tepp