Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06644-8 brain structure and function, and behavioral changes (Black et al., 2017). Experiences in the first few years of life are of particular importance because vital development occurs in all the domains during this period, and the interaction between early environments and genetics influences this development and human behavior (2000). The brain growth occurs rapidly through neurogenesis, axonal and dendritic proliferation, synaptogenesis, cell death, synaptic prun- ing, myelination, and gliogenesis during early years of life (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007). Brain development can be modified by the quality of the environment (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007). Indepen- dent animal research suggested that early undernutrition, iron-deficiency, environmental toxins, stress, and poor stim- ulation and social interaction can affect brain structure and function (Black et al., 1998; Liu et al., 2000; Webb et al., 2001). Differences in the quality of mother’s care can yield changes in stress reactivity, anxiety, and memory function Introduction Child neurodevelopment consists of several interdependent domains of cognitive, language, and motor development of a child. The child neurodevelopment is affected by a range of psychosocial and biological factors through changes in  Abu Yusuf Mahmud aymahmud@gmail.com 1 Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh 2 Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh 3 Present address: National Academy for Autism and Neuro- developmental Disabilities (NAAND), 6/A Segun Bagicha, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Abstract Trajectories of neurodevelopment of children in disadvantageous situations are greatly influenced by cognitive function of the caregiver during that period. We aimed to examine whether there is any association of maternal cognitive function with the neurodevelopmental outcomes of children living in slums in Bangladesh. We enrolled 207 mother-child (12 to 42 months) dyads. Rigorously trained testers assessed children’s cognitive, language, and motor development using Bayley- III and behavior using Wolke’s behavior ratings. Cognitive function of mothers was measured with the modified version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Digit Span scale. Other measures included home environment, parenting practices, self-esteem, anthropometry, and socio-economic status (SES). Maternal cognitive function was positively asso- ciated with cognitive, language, and motor performance of children with or without controlling for age of the children. Additionally, parenting practice was positively associated with the domains of neurodevelopment equally. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis divulged that MMSE is a significant predictor of both cognitive and language development after controlling for possible covariates, but not for the motor development. Moreover, better home stimulation predicted improved cognitive ability and higher self-esteem of mothers predicted improved motor ability of children. Maternal cognitive function has really a significant influence on the neurodevelopment of slum-dwelling children in Bangladesh. Therefore, intervention programs need to be emphasized on maternal cognition to improve neurodevelopment of children raised in adversity. Keywords Cognitive function · Neurodevelopment · Cognitive development · Language development · Motor development Accepted: 31 August 2024 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024 Maternal cognitive function and neurodevelopmental outcomes of slum-dwelling children in Bangladesh Abu Yusuf Mahmud 1,3  · Md. Kamal Uddin 1  · Fahmida Tofail 2 1 3 Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.