Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD)
What is the ABCD Study?
The ABCD is a landmark study being conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain. Lessons learned from this project will guide future tobacco, alcohol and drug prevention and treatment efforts.
Why Do We Need the ABCD Study?
Alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and other drugs are widely used by youth, and this use can pose short and long-term health and safety risks, including during development. Because brain development continues into the twenties, it is unclear how substance use among youth will affect them later in life.
- Evidence suggests that substance use has long term effects on the developing brain.
- Advances in neuroimaging allow us to study the brain in greater detail.
- Adolescents today are drinking more alcohol when they binge, and have access to higher potency marijuana and greater varieties of nicotine delivery devices than previous generations.
- Changes in state and local policies, particularly with respect to marijuana, may impact public health.
How will ABCD Be Implemented?
Unique in its scope and duration, the ABCD will recruit 10,000 youth before they begin using alcohol, marijuana, nicotine and other drugs, and follow them over 10 years into early adulthood to assess how substance use affects the trajectory of the developing brain. ABCD researchers will use advanced brain imaging as well as psychological and behavioral research tools to evaluate brain structure and function and track substance use, academic achievement, IQ, cognitive skills, and mental health over time.
What Questions Will ABCD Address?
The size and complexity of the ABCD study will allow scientists to address key questions:
- What is the impact of occasional versus regular use of marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and other substances, alone or in combination, on the structure and function of the developing brain?
- How does the use of specific substances impact the risk for using other substances?
- What are the brain pathways that link adolescent substance use and risk for mental illnesses?
- What impact does substance use have on physical health, psychological development, information processing, learning and memory, academic achievement, social development, and other behaviors?
- What factors (prenatal exposure, genetic, familial, demographic, etc.) influence the development of substance use and its consequences?
Who is Leading ABCD?
The ABCD study is led by the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN) – National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development – in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.
For more information, visit: http://addictionresearch.nih.gov/adolescent-brain-cognitive-development-study
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