What do we really know about the interplay between brain, behavior, and cognition from childhood to early adulthood? An international group effort to generate and share simulated datasets.
Abstract
Background: Neuroimaging has contributed considerably to our understanding of brain development and its relationship to cognition and behavior. However, despite advancements in neuroimaging, replicability in research remains a key issue and there are no gold standard models that quantify neuroanatomical correlates of cognition, behavior and their interplay. Methods: Research groups across the globe have each independently created simulated datasets containing the interplay between brain development, behavior, and cognition. Each group has worked independently and unaware of the approaches and assumptions made by the other groups. Each group was provided the same number of variables and were instructed to create three datasets with each embedding how they envision the interplay between brain development, behavior, and cognition emerges throughout development. Results: We are releasing these simulated datasets to challenge/invite the research community to determine the underlying patterns and assumptions within the simulated datasets. Each dataset contains 10,000 participants over 7 longitudinal waves, ranging from age 7 to 20. The data can be found at https://socoden.github.io/Simulation/. The code and descriptions of the models that were used to create these datasets will be released mid 2025. The research community is invited to explore underlying models and data patterns in simulated datasets and submit their findings. Discussion: Findings from those in the community analyzing data will be evaluated by the groups that generated the simulated datasets. Evaluations will be qualitative and will be used to identify common themes across patterns in simulated datasets and models applied by the community, to learn which proposed neurodevelopment patterns were picked up, which ones were missed and what were common assumptions made. Lessons learned will be disseminated to the research community and may also be beneficial to test with real data as large developmental datasets, such as the ABCD Study and the China Child Brain Development (CCBD) Study, come to fruition.
Authors 25
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Düsseldorf University Hospital · Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Affiliation as printed
. Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
. Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Ethan Michael McCormick Aachen Methodology and Statistics Department Institute of Psychology, Leiden University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Leiden University
Affiliation as printed
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
. Methodology and Statistics Department, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands
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Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center · Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
Affiliation as printed
. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Affiliation as printed
. Department of Psychology, Centre for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center · Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
Affiliation as printed
. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
. Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Jewish General Hospital · McGill University
Affiliation as printed
. Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
. Lady Davis Research Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Beijing Normal University · State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning
Affiliation as printed
. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Georgia Institute of Technology · Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science
Affiliation as printed
. Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
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Douglas Mental Health University Institute · McGill University
Affiliation as printed
. Brain Imaging Centre, Douglas Research Centre, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Radboud University Nijmegen · Radboud University Medical Center · Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
Affiliation as printed
. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Forschungszentrum Jülich · Düsseldorf University Hospital · Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Affiliation as printed
. Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
. Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
. Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Tonya J.H. White corresponding
National Institutes of Health · National Institute of Mental Health
Affiliation as printed
. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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