The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study team at the University of Utah has been busy getting to know families under the direction of Drs. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and Perry Renshaw. So far, nearly 400 participants have enrolled, with more scheduled in the coming weeks!

We are partnering with schools around the Salt Lake Valley to connect with families and invite them to participate in the study. We have had so much fun attending school events, including Back to School Nights, Student Education Planning conferences, and Math and Science Night, where we lead science demonstrations and talk to students about how their brains work. We are so grateful to all the schools for working closely with us to help spread the word about ABCD!

Students and families have really enjoyed their experiences in the study. One of the highlights is selecting prizes after participants complete ABCD tasks. Students also enjoy the one-on-one interactions they have with our research assistants—playing games and learning about research. Some families say that participating in the ABCD Study is the “cool thing to do” and that students are excited to wear their ABCD brain t-shirts to school.

We would like to send a special THANK YOU to all our ABCD families for spending time with us. We look forward to seeing you again!

‘Healthy, happy kids’: U. joins largest long-term study of teen brain development in U.S.

Co-Investigator of the ABCD Study at the University of Utah Dr. Erin McGlade is excited about a long-term study of teen development. “We have a lot of really good cross-sectional studies that only look at 9-year-olds or 20-year-olds or 13-year-olds, but we don’t really have good studies that look at the same kids throughout the 10 years,” McGlade said.
Click here to read more (Deseret News, 9/19/16).