Back

Global Disparities in Neuroimaging Research for Mental Health Conditions

Connell, T.; Casella, C. B.; Esper, N. B.; Tottenham, N.; Tomlinson, M.; Ibanez, A.; Kousoulis, A. A.; Seedat, S.; Bantjes, J.; Kohrt, B. A.; Irarrazaval, M.; Ameis, S.; Rohde, L. A.; Stein, D. J.; Thompson, P.; Pan, P. M.; Merali, Z.; Valdes-Sosa, P. A.; Kieling, C.; Milham, M. P.; Mneimneh, Z.; Salum, G. A.

2026-01-30 psychiatry and clinical psychology
10.64898/2026.01.27.26344057 medRxiv
Show abstract

BackgroundScientific research remains disproportionately grounded in data from high-income countries (HICs), yet efforts to map the distribution of neuroimaging findings by income levels remain limited. MethodsUsing data from the ENIGMA Consortium, we conducted a systematic quantitative synthesis of 83 publications across nine psychiatric and neurological conditions, analyzing T1-weighted structural MRI data from 16,086 cases in 27 countries. Representation was mapped using World Bank income classifications and World Health Organization (WHO) regions. ResultsHICs contributed 90.5% of cases; upper-middle-income countries 7.9%; lower-middle-income countries 1.6%; and low-income countries none. Geographically, 85% of cases originated from North America and Europe, while Africa, South-East Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean were underrepresented. Supplemental analyses of other datasets (Brain Growth Charts; fMRI meta-analysis) revealed similar disparities. ConclusionsEquitable neuroimaging science is critical to inform practice and policy decision-making that is context specific. This requires targeted investment in infrastructure, data sharing, and participation from underrepresented regions.

Matching journals

The top 8 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

50% of probability mass above

"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.