Welcome to CALM: Open 

You have reached the data download portal for the Centre for Attention, Learning, and Memory (CALM). 

CALM: Open provides access to clinical, cognitive, structural and functional MRI data from a study of neurodevelopmental difficulties conducted at the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU). The MRC CBU is part of The University of Cambridge, funded through a strategic partnership between the Medical Research Council and the University. These anonymised research data are released to the global scientific research community in accordance with the informed consent of the participants and their parents/carers. Data is released at three stages. 

To summarise some key features of this CALM: Open first data release (CALM 800): 

• Cross-sectional sample of 805 children experiencing neurodevelopmental difficulties in the age range 5-18 years, with each participant assessed at a single time-point. 
• Children and adolescents were referred to the centre by health and educational professionals who recognised them to have difficulties in the areas of attention, learning and/or memory. Children were accepted into the study irrespective of diagnosis or comorbidity provided that they met the study inclusion criteria: 1) native English speaker (the first language learned and the main language used in the home); 2) no significant uncorrected problems of hearing or vision; 3) no pre-existing neurological conditions for which cognitive difficulties are known possible symptoms. 
• Children who attended the centre were invited to complete neuropsychological assessments as detailed in the study protocol and parents/carers were asked to complete questionnaires about their child’s behaviour and family history. 
• A subsample of the cohort (N = 345) completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of brain structure and function. 

Data structures added in the second data release (CALM 200):​​​​

• Cross-sectional sample of 187 children in the age range 5-18 years drawn from the same schools attended by children in the first data release (CALM 800), with each participant assessed at a single time-point. 
• Children and adolescents attending the same schools as the referred children in the first data release, who were not referred. Children were not screened for neurodevelopmental or psychiatric conditions and were accepted into the study irrespective of diagnosis or comorbidity provided that they met the study inclusion criteria: 1) native English speaker (the first language learned and the main language used in the home); 2) no significant uncorrected problems of hearing or vision; 3) no pre-existing neurological conditions for which cognitive difficulties are known possible symptoms. 
• Children who attended the centre were invited to complete neuropsychological assessments as detailed in the study protocol and parents/carers were asked to complete questionnaires about their child’s behaviour and family history.
• A subsample of the cohort (N = 95) completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of brain structure and function. 

Data structures not included in the current release: 

• Family history data for the CALM 200 cohort. This will soon be added to the repository. 
• Data from the longitudinal follow-up of the cohort. This data will be added to the repository at the third and final data release. 
• Genetic information derived from a subsample of the cohort who provided saliva samples. This data will not be shared on this repository. 

More information about the dataset can be found in the study protocol. 

A full list of CALM Publications can be viewed here. 

Ethical approval for this study was granted by the National Health Service (NHS) Health Research Authority NRES Committee East of England, REC approval reference 13/EE/0157, IRAS 127675 (original study) and REC approval reference 21/NE/0066, IRAS 280879 (database).