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The 1993 Detroit Area Study explored a variety of issues related to health, the effects of aging, living conditions, and participation in civic life in the Michigan tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. A battery of questions probed respondents' perceptions of their health and mental state and those of their spouse, their ability to perform certain physical and mental activities, and the effect of their emotional state on their appetite and sleeping patterns. Other explored their feelings about neighborhood safety, means of transportation, relationships, accommodation, the portrayal of older people on television programs, and the treatment of older people by employers. The survey also sought respondents' opinions about government, their personal financial situation and problems, money management, savings and investments, and their life as a whole. Additional items questioned respondents about the frequency of their visits to the doctor, overnight hospitalization, chronic health conditions, smoking and drinking habits, and medical coverage, as well as electoral participation, political party preference, ideological leanings, class self-identification, assistance received from community organizations, family, and friends, personal regrets, and time spent watching television and engaging in pleasurable activities. Other questions gauged respondents' memory, vision, and motor skills. Respondents also provided demographic information on sex, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, and education.

The Neuroscience study is Project 5 of the MIDUS longitudinal study, a national survey of more than 7,000 Americans (aged 25 to 74) begun in 1994. The purpose of the larger study was to investigate the role of behavioral, psychological, and social factors in understanding age-related differences in physical and mental health. With support from the National Institute on Aging, a longitudinal follow-up of the original MIDUS samples [core sample (N = 3,487), metropolitan over-samples (N = 757), twins (N = 957 pairs), and siblings (N = 950)] was conducted in 2004-2006.

The Neuroscience Project of MIDUS 2 contains data from 331 respondents. These respondents include two distinct subsamples, all of whom completed both the Project 1 Survey and the Project 4 biomarker assessment at University of Wisconsin-Madison: (1) longitudinal (n = 223) and (2) Milwaukee (n = 108). The Milwaukee group contained individuals who participated in the baseline MIDUS Milwaukee study, initiated in 2005.

The purpose of the Neuroscience Project was to examine the central circuitry associated with individual differences in affective style that represent a continuum from vulnerability to resilience, and characterize some of the peripheral consequences of these central profiles for biological systems that may be relevant to health. The primary aims were to: (1) characterize individual differences in both emotional reactivity and emotional recovery using psychophysiological measures such as corrugator electromyography and eyeblink startle magnitude, (2) characterize individual differences in brain morphology, in particular amygdala and hippocampal volume, using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), (3) characterize individual differences in activity within the neural circuitry of emotion regulation using both electroencephalography and fMRI, and (4) test the ability of the central indices in this project to predict the comprehensive array of health, cognitive, psychological, social, and life challenge factors assessed in the other MIDUS projects.

To probe individual differences in emotional reactivity and recovery (a key component of regulation) the Neuroscience Project examined both psychophysiological and fMRI measures during the presentation of emotional (positive and negative) and neutral pictures, and these same measures during a post-picture period. The logic of this strategy is that continued activation during the recovery period following a negative stimulus is indicative of poor automatic emotion regulation. Respondents in the Neuroscience Project are a representative subsample of the MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) survey.

National respondents in the Neuroscience Project are a representative subsample of the MIDUS 2 survey sample (#4652).

The raw neuro-imaging data are not available through NACDA/ICPSR; please see the README file for more information about how to obtain them.

From 2004-2009, an initial follow-up of the original Midlife Development in the United States samples (MIDUS 2) was conducted with expansion of the protocol to include Neuroscience Project data collection and a sample of Black Americans from Milwaukee, WI. The MIDUS Neuroscience Project performed a second follow-up from 2017-2022 of the MIDUS Main and Milwaukee samples (MIDUS 3) on a subsample of those who completed the MIDUS 3 Survey and Biomarker Projects.

The goal was to examine indices of brain aging, function, and structure with a focus on the brain circuitry associated with individual differences in affective style, and to characterize the peripheral consequences of these central profiles for biological systems that may be relevant to health. The primary aims were to: (1) characterize individual differences in emotional reactivity, recovery, and sustaining processes using corrugator and zygomatic electromyography and eyeblink startle magnitude, (2) characterize individual differences in brain morphology and connectivity using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) (3) characterize individual differences in functional activity within the neural circuitry of emotion using task and resting state fMRI, (4) calculate brain age, and (5) test the ability of these indices to predict the comprehensive array of health, wellbeing, cognitive, psychological, social, and life challenge factors assessed in other MIDUS projects. To probe individual differences in emotional processes, psychophysiological and fMRI measures of emotional responses to the presentation of negative, positive, and neutral pictures, and these same measures during a post-picture period were examined.

Emotion-influenced memory was assessed at both the psychophysiological and imaging sessions: (1) Free recall of the presented affective pictures at the end of the psychophysiological session. (2) Memory and likeability ratings for neutral faces paired with the affective pictures in the imaging task. Finally, selected tasks from the CANTAB assessed affective biases and cognitive processes important for emotion regulation.

The MIDUS Refresher Neuroscience Project studied 138 participants from the Refresher sample. These respondents included two distinct subsamples, all of whom completed both the Survey Project and the Biomarker Project's assessment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: the Main Refresher (n = 93) and Milwaukee Refresher (n = 45) samples.

The purpose of the Neuroscience Project is to examine the central circuitry associated with individual differences in affective style that represent a continuum from vulnerability to resilience, and to characterize the peripheral consequences of these central profiles for biological systems that may be relevant to health.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The NHANES combines personal interviews and physical examinations, which focus on different population groups or health topics. These surveys have been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) on a periodic basis from 1971 to 1994. In 1999 the NHANES became a continuous program with a changing focus on a variety of health and nutrition measurements which were designed to meet current and emerging concerns. The surveys examine a nationally representative sample of approximately 5,000 persons each year. These persons are located in counties across the United States, 15 of which are visited each year.

For NHANES 2003-2004, there were 12,761 persons selected for the sample, 10,122 of those were interviewed (79.3 percent) and 9,643 (75.6 percent) were examined in the mobile examination centers (MEC). Many of the NHANES 2003-2004 questions were also asked in NHANES II 1976-1980, Hispanic HANES 1982-1984, NHANES III 1988-1994, and NHANES 1999-2002. New questions were added to the survey based on recommendations from survey collaborators, NCHS staff, and other interagency work groups. As in past health examination surveys, data were collected on the prevalence of chronic conditions in the population. Estimates for previously undiagnosed conditions, as well as those known to and reported by survey respondents, are produced through the survey. Risk factors, those aspects of a person's lifestyle, constitution, heredity, or environment that may increase the chances of developing a certain disease or condition, were examined. Data on smoking, alcohol consumption, sexual practices, drug use, physical fitness and activity, weight, and dietary intake were collected. Information on certain aspects of reproductive health, such as use of oral contraceptives and breastfeeding practices, were also collected. The diseases, medical conditions, and health indicators that were studied include: anemia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and lower extremity disease, environmental exposures, equilibrium, hearing loss, infectious diseases and immunization, kidney disease, mental health and cognitive functioning, nutrition, obesity, oral health, osteoporosis, physical fitness and physical functioning, reproductive history and sexual behavior, respiratory disease (asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema), sexually transmitted diseases, skin diseases, and vision. The sample for the survey was selected to represent the United States population of all ages. Special emphasis in the 2003-2004 NHANES was on adolescent health and the health of older Americans. To produce reliable statistics for these groups, adolescents aged 15-19 years and persons aged 60 years and older were over-sampled for the survey. African Americans and Mexican Americans were also over-sampled to enable accurate estimates for these groups. Several important areas in adolescent health, including nutrition and fitness and other aspects of growth and development, were addressed. Since the United States has experienced dramatic growth in the number of older people during the twentieth century, the aging population has major implications for health care needs, public policy, and research priorities. NCHS is working with public health agencies to increase the knowledge of the health status of older Americans. NHANES has a primary role in this endeavor. In the examination, all participants visit the physician who takes their pulse or blood pressure. Dietary interviews and body measurements are included for everyone. All but the very young have a blood sample taken and see the dentist. Depending upon the age of the participant, the rest of the examination includes tests and procedures to assess the various aspects of health listed above. Usually, the older the individual, the more extensive the examination. Some persons who are unable or unwilling to come to the examination center may be given a less extensive examination in their homes.

Demographic data file variables are grouped into three broad categories: (1) Status Variables: provide core information on the survey participant. Examples of the core variables include interview status, examination status, and sequence number. (Sequence number is a unique ID assigned to each sample person and is required to match the information on this demographic file to the rest of the NHANES 2003-2004 data). (2) Recoded Demographic Variables: these variables include age (age in months for persons through age 19 years, 11 months; age in years for 1- to 84-year-olds, and a top-coded age group of 85 years of age and older), gender, a race/ethnicity variable, current or highest grade of education completed, (less than high school, high school, and more than high school education), country of birth (United States, Mexico, or other foreign born), Poverty Income Ratio (PIR), income, and a pregnancy status variable (adjudicated from various pregnancy related variables). Some of the groupings were made due to limited sample sizes for the two-year data set. (3) Interview and Examination Sample Weight Variables: sample weights are available for analyzing NHANES 2003-2004 data. For a complete listing of survey contents for all years of the NHANES see the document -- Survey Content -- NHANES 1999-2010.