12,000 Adolescents Participate in ABCD, the Biggest U.S. Longitudinal Study of the Maturing Brain
August 30, 2019
Nearly 12,000 adolescents from around the country are participating in the 10-year Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study—the biggest longitudinal study of the developing brain undertaken in the U.S. Mother Jones magazine provided an inside look at this massive effort to transform the understanding of how our brains develop. “We’re going to be working with this dataset for decades,” said Center advisor Dr. Jennifer Pfeifer, University of Oregon.
Recent News
April 20, 2026
The UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent was cited in a New America article highlighting organizations and research that have supported the National Commission on Learning Ecosystems’ understanding of adolescent development and how to build ecosystems that support young people. The National Commission on Learning Ecosystems is a two-year initiative, announced in February 2026, that focuses on making stronger connections between U.S. public schools and out-of-school programs.
April 16, 2026
The Wallace Foundation interviews CDA’s Co-Executive Director Adriana Galvan for an article on how adolescent brain development shapes risk-taking and learning, and why relationships, exploration, and access to out-of-school-time opportunities matter for developing adolescents.
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