Children whose mothers are more attentive during infancy go on to develop more nerve cells in their hippocampus, a region of the brain which plays a key role in memory and emotion, researchers found.
Although the findings do not prove that the mothers' behaviour caused the improved brain size, measured during later childhood, they suggest supportive parenting could play a role in brain development.
Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, observed the level of support provided by 92 parents as their preschool age children were given a present and told to wait eight minutes before unwrapping it.
Brain scans carried out on the same children between the ages of seven and 13 showed that those whose parents had provided the most support to reduce their stress during the earlier task had larger hippocampi.
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the scientists said the effect was much lower in children who showed early signs of depression, suggesting this could counteract the benefit of maternal support.
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