Data Sharing

Click here to view a detailed schematic of the Data Release Schedule. Each data release contains data on the full participant cohort. For more information about the assessment domains, please visit the Protocols page.

Click here for the ABCD wiki. Click here for FAQs.


Data Releases

The ABCD 5.1 Data Release is now available

The ABCD 5.1 Data Release is available on the NIMH Data Archive (NDA).

The 5.1 Patch Release addressed some data quality issues from the 5.0 Data Release. Please click here for further information.

ABCD Data Release 5.0 is now available

ABCD Data Release 5.0 has been shared. The ABCD Study® and NDA have changed the way tabulated data are downloaded for the 5.0 release. The imaging and non-imaging tabulated data are packaged as a single .zip file containing all of the relevant tables for the domain. To obtain the data you must be logged into NDA (authenticated). Visit https://nda.nih.gov/study.html?id=2147 and select the “ABCD 5.0 Tabulated Release Data” file in the Results section to download all tabulated imaging and non-imaging 5.0 data. As in past releases, neuroimaging and other file-based data (e.g., genomics; raw behavioral data) are accessible via the NDA download manager tool.

All data access information is documented on the NDA ABCD Featured Dataset page (https://nda.nih.gov/general-query.html?q=query=featured-datasets:Adolescent%20Brain%20Cognitive%20Development%20Study%20(ABCD) and includes pointers to an external ABCD Study wiki at https://wiki.abcdstudy.org/ where data release notes and general information about the data resource are provided. All users should review the release notes for detailed information on the released data. Note that with the change to how release notes are made available, they will be updated regularly and thus users are advised to check https://wiki.abcdstudy.org/release-notes/start-page.html for the most up-to-date information. Release notes for qualified users only (i.e., non-public) are available at https://nda.nih.gov/study.html?id=2147. The 5.0 data ontology and dictionary can be viewed at https://data-dict.abcdstudy.org/.

The table below highlights key differences between the 4.0 and 5.0 data releases. Note that the Data Exploration and Analysis Portal (DEAP) has been decommissioned as of June 1, 2023. In addition, study creation no longer works with how the data are shared this year. We anticipate reinstating it with the 6.0 data release.

Data Release 5.0 contains early longitudinal data on the full participant cohort, including 2-year follow-up neuroimaging data (second imaging timepoint), as well as phenotypic data through the 3-year follow-up visits. Interim data are available for the 4-year follow-up visit, including some of the neuroimaging data. Also available are ABCD derived scores from linked external school performance and environmental data, including the Stanford Education Data Archive, EPA Smart Location Database, American Community Survey Area Deprivation Index, FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, lead exposure risk and air pollution indices, among others. Smokescreen genotyping array data with TOPMed imputations are available as well. These include common variations, as well as variations associated with addiction, smoking behavior, and nicotine metabolism.

Linked external environmental data in ABCD Data Release 5.0

Click here to view the linked external environmental data available with ABCD Data Release 5.0. (Fan et al. 2021)

Linked External Data(click image for larger size)
Building towards an adolescent neural urbanome: Expanding environmental measures using linked external data (LED) in the ABCD study (Cardenas-Iniguez C, et al., 2024)

About Curated Data

Curated data are released annually through the NIMH Data Archive, beginning with an interim release that was made available in 2018 and included high quality baseline data from the first ~4500 participants. Data Release 2.0 included baseline data on the full participant cohort. Click here to view what the baseline data includes.

Fast-track Imaging Data Release

The ABCD Study, in partnership with the NIMH Data Archive (NIDA), releases fast-track unprocessed neuroimaging data and basic participant demographics. Click here for more information.

Full Baseline Data Demographics

Click here for full baseline data demographics (n = 11,878 participants; 48% female; 52% male)

Archived Data Releases

Please click here to view archived data releases.

Upcoming Events

ABCD Insights and Innovations Meeting (AIIM)

The ABCD Insights and Innovations Meeting (AIIM) 2025 will be held on March 3-4, 2025 in Bethesda, Maryland.

The previous ABCD Insights and Innovations Meeting was held virtually and in-person March 4-5, 2024. The recordings and meeting summary are now available.

The ABCD Study® is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. An early goal of this landmark study was to create a unique data resource for the scientific community by embracing an open science model. The ABCD Study ® has been committed to regular curated data releases since 2018. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together researchers who are leveraging this open science data from the ABCD Study to share innovative findings and emerging insights about adolescent development. The meeting aimed to foster collaboration among scientists from multiple disciplines and career stages and provide opportunities for sharing novel perspectives through data presentations, roundtable discussions, and interactive poster sessions. The meeting also provided opportunities for researchers to connect with members of the ABCD consortium and NIH program staff.

Archived News and Events

Please click here to view archived news and events.

Data Opportunities

NIDA Racial Equity Initiative funding opportunity announcement

The NIDA Racial Equity Initiative has issued a notice of funding opportunity announcement on researching neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the impact of structural racism on the substance use trajectory. You can view the Request for Application here.

Secondary data analysis funding opportunity announcements

NICHD, along with several other ICs, have issued notices of funding opportunities on measuring brain changes across long timespans. You can view the requests for application here and here.

NIDA has issued two secondary data analysis funding opportunity announcements focused on substance use trajectories and risk and resilience of substance use disorder. You can review the Requests for Application here and here.

NIMH, along with NIAAA, NIEHS and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, have issued funding opportunity announcements for ABCD secondary data analysis. Note that these are reissues of PAR-19-162 and PAR-19-163. You can review them here and here.

Announcing a special issue at Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience for the ABCD Study

Call for papers for a DCN Special Issue on ABCD studies

Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study: Longitudinal Methods, Developmental Findings, and Associations with Environmental Risk Factors

Guest Editors: Monica Luciana, Deanna Barch, Megan Herting

This special issue of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience is focused on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The ABCD Consortium study includes 21 data collection sites that have successfully enrolled and are following nearly 12,000 adolescents and their families using a comprehensive neurobehavioral and MRI-based neuroimaging battery. The data have been made available to the scientific community through the NIMH Data Archive. As of this writing, the project’s baseline and year 1 follow-up data have been released. ABCD Data Release 3.0, which includes a portion of the 2-year follow-up data, will be available later this fall. The goal of this issue is to update the field on the study’s longitudinal measures, best practices for the analysis of longitudinal data, and emerging findings. We are particularly interested in empirical papers that use best practices to establish robustness and replicability, take advantage of the longitudinal nature of the data, and integrate findings across measurement domains. This issue will be focused on papers that present new information on psychometrics or validity of measures, best practices for analytic approaches, and/or novel neurodevelopmental findings in accord with the mission of the journal. In keeping with the mission of the journal, papers should address, either through methodology or discussion, relevance to the field’s understanding of neurodevelopment.

Submission instructions

The Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience’s submission system will be open for submissions to our Special Issue from 01 Feb 2021. When submitting your manuscript please select the article type “VSI: ABCD Longitudinal methods”. Please submit your manuscript before 31 Mar 2021.

All submissions deemed suitable to be sent for peer review will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. Once your manuscript is accepted, it will go into production and will be simultaneously published in the current regular issue and pulled into the online Special Issue. Articles from this Special Issue will appear in different regular issues of the journal, though they will be clearly marked and branded as Special Issue articles.

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/developmental-cognitive-neuroscience/call-for-papers/adolescent-brain-cognitive-development-study 

DCAN Labs ABCD-BIDS MRI pipeline inputs and derivatives 

The data collection from the Developmental Cognition and Neuroimaging (DCAN) Labs contains a regularly updated dataset of ABCD Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) version 1.2.0 pipeline inputs and derivatives. Source data are currently comprised of all the ABCD Study participants baseline DICOM imaging data that passed initial acquisition quality control and were processed by DCAN Labs. The input DICOM data to this BIDS version 1.2.0 data collection were retrieved from the NIMH Data Archive (NDA) share of ABCD fast-track data and were last accessed on May 1, 2019. BIDS input data were converted from DICOMs using ABCD Dcm2Bids. BIDS derivatives data were derived from the DCAN Labs ABCD-BIDS MRI processing pipeline which ou(https:/nda.nih.gtputs Human Connectome Project (HCP) Minimal Preprocessing Pipelines-style data in both volume and surface spaces. The collection is here.

ABCD Study data analysis codes available now on the GitHub development site

Click here to view the ABCD Study data analysis codes on the GitHub development site!

ABCD Study genetic correlation cortical surface maps are now available

Fuzzy clusters derived from genetic correlation of cortical areas will be provided on request. Click here to view associated documentation.

Archived Data Opportunities

Please click here to view archived data opportunities.

Data Resources

Introducing NIH Cloud Lab

Are you interested in using the cloud for research but not ready to make a long-term commitment? Make sure you check out NIH Cloud Lab, a new 90-day program that enables NIH-affiliated* researchers to explore the cloud at no cost in a secure, NIH-approved environment. Participants can sign up at any time and receive an account with $500 of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure credits, access to curated bioinformatics tutorials, and support from NIH technical and bioinformatics experts. The program is open to all NIH-affiliated researchers and all NIH staff. Browse the Cloud Lab homepage to learn more and reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.

Request for Information (RFI): Improving research frameworks to enable rigorous study of the effects of racism on brain and behavioral health across the lifespan

Access the RFI and get information on how to submit responses here.

ABCD Data Use Updates, Data Release Wiki, Interactive Data Dictionary Explorer, and Interactive Discussion Forum
Watch these brief videos to learn about the extensive ABCD Non-Imaging Assessments Protocol

ABCD Study Methods Publications

ABCD Study investigators have published papers that describe the study’s design and analysis plans, and that highlight methodological and statistical issues in ABCD.

Click here to read about recommendations for using large-scale publicly available data to advance health among American Indian peoples.

Click here to read about recommended practices for researchers and reviewers working with ABCD Study data.

Click here to read about trait stability and reliability in ABCD task fMRI data.

Click here to read about protocols and practices for the ABCD Study’s linked external environmental data.

Click here to read about issues surrounding meaningful associations in the ABCD Study.

Click here to read about the neuroimaging processing pipeline used for ABCD Data Release 1.1.

Click here for a special issue of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience dedicated to the study’s rationale, aims, and assessment strategies.