Caregiver executive functions are associated with infant visual working memory.

Abstract

Caregiver executive functions (EFs) play an integral role in shaping cognitive development. Here, we investigated how caregiver EF abilities (86 caregivers; mean age = 33.4 years, SD = 4.5) was associated with visual working memory (VWM) in infants (86 infants females; mean age = 250.6 days, SD = 35.8). The BRIEF-A was used to assess caregiver EFs, and a preferential looking task along with fNIRS was used to assess VWM function in infants. Our findings revealed that better caregiver behavioral regulation was associated with better VWM performance, greater right-lateralized parietal activation, and left-lateralized frontal suppression, while better caregiver metacognition and emotional control was associated with greater right-lateralized temporal suppression in infants. Taken together, these associations suggest that better caregiver EF abilities might shape visuo-spatial attention and memory, guide fixation on task-relevant goals, and suppress distractions in children from as early as the first year of life.