Saara Nolvi
Ph.D (FT), adjunct professor (dos.)
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study saara.nolvi@utu.fi Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku : Med A307/Pub 318 Contact requests by e-mail. |
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)
- Association between infant and toddler gut microbiota composition and later executive functioning (2026)
- Development and Psychopathology
- Associations Between Maternal Cumulative Psychological Distress and Child Subsequent Social Competence: The Role of Early Childhood Education and Care and Social Networks (2026)
- Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
- Child inhibitory control in toddlerhood: associations with child interaction skills with the mother (2026)
- BMC Psychology
- Does Parental Presence Influence Child Performance on an Emotional Go/No‐Go Task at Age 9.5? Exploring the Role of Puberty and Early Environmental Quality (2026)
- Developmental Science
- Neonatal amygdala and fear processing across early childhood (2026)
- European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Prenatal Parental Psychosocial Determinants of Neonatal Brain Structure: A Latent Variable Approach in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort (2026)
- Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
- The Moderating Role of Child Temperament in the Face of Parental Distress During Covid-19: Associations with Long-Term Social-Emotional Functioning (2026)
- International Journal of Behavioral Development
- Unpredictable maternal signals and developmental profiles of child executive function from infancy to early childhood (2026)
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
- Gestational diabetes mellitus and children's social-emotional development, behavioral problems, and psychological adjustment (2025)
- Pediatric Research
- Infant temperament predicts early communicative skills in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- Journal of Communication Disorders



