Data Sharing of the Meta-Analysis Maps from the DIRECT and ENIGMA Consortia

Background and RationaleMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading contributors to global disability and disease burden. Large-scale collaborative initiatives such as the Depression Imaging REsearch ConsorTium (DIRECT) and the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) MDD working group have substantially advanced our understanding of the neurobiological basis of depression. Integrating results across these consortia provides an important opportunity to identify robust and reproducible neuroimaging patterns associated with MDD.What’s Shared: The DIRECT–ENIGMA Meta MapsBased on the collaborative infrastructure of DIRECT Phase II and the ENIGMA consortium, we conducted a large-scale joint meta-analysis of neuroimaging data. To promote transparency, reproducibility, and open science, we are sharing the statistical meta-maps derived from this analysis.The shared maps include summary-level statistical T maps from each site. Specifically, the released maps cover cortical thickness and cortical surface area models for all participants, adults, and adolescents, including case–control comparisons, age-by-diagnosis and sex-by-diagnosis interaction analyses, age-of-onset analyses, illness-stage analyses, remission-status analyses, symptom-severity associations, and antidepressant-use analyses. For each site-level analysis, the shared outputs also include the corresponding ModelSummaryInfo.txt file, documenting the summary information.By releasing these maps, we aim to facilitate further research on the neurobiological mechanisms of depression and to support the development and validation of new neuroimaging analytic approaches.Key FeaturesLarge-scale dataset: Meta-analysis maps derived from the integrated analyses of the DIRECT Phase II and ENIGMA datasets, representing one of the largest neuroimaging samples of MDD to date.Support for secondary analyses: The shared maps enable threshold-free spatial analyses, cross-study comparisons, and benchmarking of neuroimaging analysis methods.Data Sharing Process and RequirementsAs these data consist of summary-level statistical maps rather than individual-level participant data, they do not contain protected health information.Therefore, the dataset is shared under an Unrestricted Sharing model:The meta-maps are openly accessible to the research community.Researchers may perform secondary analyses using these maps.Users should follow standard scientific citation practices when using the dataset.Code AvailabilityCustom scripts used for data processing, statistical analysis and figure generation in this study are publicly available at GitHub: https://github.com/Chaogan-Yan/PaperScripts/tree/master/Yan_2025.Author Contributions StatementCGY, ZHW, EP and LS conceived and designed the study and interpreted the data. All authors contributed to data collection, data processing and/or data provision from the participating cohorts, critically revised the manuscript, and approved the final version for publication.