Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41621242›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental cognitive neuroscience2026

Unpredictable maternal signals and developmental profiles of child executive function from infancy to early childhood.

Fiia Takio, Pilvi Peura, Akie Yada, Anniina Karonen, Pauliina Juntunen, Eeva Holmberg, Eeva Eskola, Elisabeth Nordenswan, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Eeva-Leena Kataja and 8 more

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Article in Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Fiia TakioFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Electronic address: fiia.takio@utu.fi.
Pilvi PeuraThe Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Akie YadaDepartment of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Anniina KaronenFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland.
Pauliina JuntunenFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Eeva HolmbergFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Eeva EskolaFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Elisabeth NordenswanFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Kirby Deater-DeckardHelsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Finland; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
Eeva-Leena KatajaFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Asko TolvanenThe Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Laura PerastoFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Elina Mainela-ArnoldFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Elysia Poggi DavisPsychology Department, University of Denver and the Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, USA.
Hasse KarlssonFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Medicine, Unit of Public Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Medicine, Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Linnea KarlssonFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland.
Saara NolviFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Riikka KorjaFinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; The Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Early executive function (EF) development is crucial for later cognitive and socioemotional outcomes, yet the role of environmental unpredictability, particularly in patterns of maternal sensory signals, remains underexplored. In this longitudinal study, we investigated the associations between unpredictability in maternal sensory signals and children's early EF profiles from infancy through the preschool years. Using a population-based birth cohort, we observed a small but significant decrease in the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals over time. This suggests that caregiving predictability may increase as children develop. Nonetheless, within-individual unpredictability showed some stability across time. Importantly, lower unpredictability of maternal sensory signals was associated with membership in more favorable EF profiles, characterized by stronger working memory performance at age five. In contrast, children exposed to more unpredictable maternal sensory signals demonstrated poorer early EF development. These findings build on and extend prior work by modeling unpredictability of maternal sensory signals longitudinally beyond toddlerhood and linking it to children's EF development, highlighting the prolonged sensitivity of EFs to caregiving behavior. Our results underscore that unpredictability in caregiving behavior is a unique and critical factor in shaping early cognitive development and self-regulation. The findings align with emerging cross-species research indicating that patterns of sensory signals are vital not only for sensory processing but also for the development of higher-order cognitive functions. Together, these findings highlight the importance of addressing caregiving unpredictability in early interventions aimed at supporting children's EF development.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentExecutive FunctionMaternal BehaviorMother-Child RelationsChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantLongitudinal StudiesMaleMemory, Short-TermEarly developmentExecutive functionLongitudinal studyMaternal caregiving behaviourMaternal sensory signalsUnpredictability

Identifiers

PMID41621242
PMCPMC12882702

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.