On Oct. 14, 2016, Colorado University Boulder researchers will play a key role in a landmark National Institutes of Health (NIH) study of brain development and child health in the United States. The long-term study began recruitment.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study will follow the biological and behavioral development of more than 10,000 children beginning at ages 9-10 through adolescence into early adulthood. Recruitment will be done over a two-year period through partnerships with public and private schools near research sites across the country as well as through twin registries.

CU Boulder is one of 19 sites across the nation selected to host the study. Research will be led by the university’s Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) which runs the campus’s neuroimaging center and the Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG).