Saara Nolvi
Ph.D (FT), adjunct professor (dos.)
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study saara.nolvi@utu.fi Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku Office: Med A307/Pub 318 Contact requests by e-mail. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-1473 |
prenatal stress; early life stress; postnatal stress; anxiety; temperament; fear reactivity; executive functioning; socioemotional development; cognitive development; structural equation modelling; milk cortisol; brain structure; amygdala; MRI; fMRI, DTI
Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn); Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology; the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.
Pronouns: she/hers
I am adjunct professor (developmental psychology) and psychologist by background. I currently work as senior researcher in the Academy-funded Centrel of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn) in the Department of Psychology and Speech-Languge Pathology. I am the principal investigator in the Academy-funded PROSODE project where we explore parental social protective experiences and how they are linked to child self-regulation and brain development. Additionally, I am senior researcher in the PeCCaPS study, where the focus is in family functioning after the child has received diagnosis for pediatric cancer, and family members are being tested for their genetic predispositions for cancer.
My research focuses on early life environmental effects on child self-regulation development and the neural and other biological mechanisms underlying these associations. Particularly, I am interested in the buffering or promotive environmental factors, such as caregiving, parental presence, positive life events, or social support expriences. I am also interested in the inter-individual differences in sensitivity to stress and environment, and how these differences in plasticity are shaped by the environment across development. In
the InterLearn study, we are specifically interested in the longitudinal development of self-regulation and its relation to child mental health and academic functioning. We also aim to identify environmental factors that may buffer from or exacerbate the risk for academic and emotional difficulties.
Teacher education (60 ects); experience from teaching and lecturing from all age groups and educational levels
Taught courses currently:
PSYK3933 Developmental psychology I
PSYK4323 Master's thesis (Psychology)
- Fearing the disease or the vaccine: The case of COVID-19 (2021)
- Personality and Individual Differences
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Infant and Child MRI: A Review of Scanning Procedures (2021)
- Frontiers in Neuroscience
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Maternal Alexithymic Traits Are Related to Lower Maternal Sensitivity and Higher Hostility in Maternal Caregiving Behavior-The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2021)
- Frontiers in Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Neonatal Amygdala Volumes and the Development of Self-Regulation from Early Infancy to Toddlerhood (2021)
- Neuropsychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Prenatal Glucocorticoid-Exposed Infants Do Not Show an Age-Typical Fear Bias at 8 Months of Age – Preliminary Findings From the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2021)
- Frontiers in Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Prospective association of maternal psychosocial stress in pregnancy with newborn hippocampal volume and implications for infant social-emotional development (2021)
- Neurobiology of Stress
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Sleep during infancy, inhibitory control and working memory in toddlers: findings from the FinnBrain cohort study (2021)
- Sleep Science and Practice
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Vanhempien masennus- ja ahdistusoireet lisääntyivät COVID-19-pandemian alkuvaiheessa - FinnBrain-syntymäkohorttitutkimus (2021)
- Duodecim
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Child Temperament and Total Diurnal Cortisol in Out-of-Home Center-Based Child Care and in At-Home Parental Care (2020)
- Child Development
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Maternal Anxiety Symptoms and Self-Regulation Capacity Are Associated With the Unpredictability of Maternal Sensory Signals in Caregiving Behavior (2020)
- Frontiers in Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



