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Psy-ShareD

Psychosis MRI Shared Data Resource

Combining international pre-existing MRI T1 datasets with linked clinical and cognitive data, into one free-to-access resource.

Publications

SIRS 2025

The Psy-ShareD workshop at the 2025 Schizophrenia International Research Society ...

Latest Project

Voxel-Based Morphometry meta-analysis and mega-analysis of regional brain volume ...

New Publication Release

MRI data sharing in psychosis: Key challenges and a new Open Access resource ....

Brief Overview & Principles

Psy-ShareD is a new anatomical MRI data sharing initiative that combines high quality, valuable, underutilised pre-existing 'legacy' MRI T1 datasets, with linked clinical and cognitive data into one free-to-access resource.

Currently the Psy-ShareD database hosts pre-existing structural MRI data collected at different sites across Europe, North and Central America, Asia and Australia that are suitable for region of interest, voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness and surface area analytical approaches.

The following academic institutes are currently part of the project: King's College London, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Surrey, Brunel University London, University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, University of Toyama (Japan), National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (India), University of Napels Federico II (Italy), University of Lübeck (Germany), University Hospital LMU (Germany), Georgia State University (USA), Johns Hopkins University (USA), Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU (Singapore), University of Zurich (Switzerland). The database has been active since January 2025.

The Psy-ShareD database is accessible to all UK and international academic institutions. This will allow researchers who are not affiliated with the large biomedical schools to be able to conduct well powered research and derive new knowledge about the neuroanatomy of schizophrenia and psychosis.

All datasets contained within the Psy-ShareD database are covered for use by UK National Health Service Database ethical approval. Data access is via a short data access request procedure which is reviewed by the Psy-ShareD Data Management Committee. We are particularly keen to see data access requests from early career researchers.

The database will encompass data from Healthy Controls, as well as from individuals with Psychosis and Psychosis Risk phenotypes i.e.

✱

Schizophrenia
✱

First episode psychosis
✱

Clinical high risk for psychosis
✱

High levels of schizotypy
✱

Bipolar disorder
✱

Experience of childhood trauma

Why is Psy-ShareD needed

Some (not all) multisite and data sharing initiatives restrict access to consortia members only, leading to inequity, particularly for early career researchers that often face challenges in accessing MRI datasets.

There are variations in the illness characteristics across geographies and ethnocultural groups. However, many brain-based investigations into schizophrenia have been conducted in the global North with fewer studies in the global South.

All meta-analyses, and many mega-analyses, relied on summary data from contributing centres rather than on image level MRI data.

Although a few exceptions exist, analyses conducted by multi-centre and consortia initiatives are often restricted to cross-sectional data thus limiting our understanding of neuroanatomical trajectories.

The Psy-ShareD database can potentially address these issues that in the past, have limited access and/or generalisability of consortium and multi-site initiatives.

Our Aims

To maximise the visibility of the database to ensure global usage
Develop and use state-of-the-art methods to harmonise and standardise structural MRI, clinical and cognitive data
Seek out and integrate new MRI datasets, especially those acquired in psychosis and psychosis risk populations from the global South
Manage the database to ensure its long-term sustainability

Project Summary

45+

STUDIES

14+

COLLABORATORS

3800+

SCANS

Current data
sites

The Psy-ShareD project is an international collaboration funded by Medical Research Council that aims to advance understanding of psychosis through shared neuroimaging data .

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