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Neuroscience
Finland
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Neuroscience

D-Index
91
Citations
30376
World Ranking
1064
National Ranking
6

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Neuroscience in Finland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Neuroscience in Finland Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Neuroscience in Finland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Neuroscience in Finland Leader Award

Overview

Kai Kaila is affiliated with the University of Helsinki in Finland and has made contributions across several interconnected disciplines including Neuroscience, Medicine, and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Their research spans multiple subfields such as Molecular Biology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health, Psychiatry and Mental Health, and Neurology.

Their work focuses on topics like Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, Neonatal and Fetal Brain Pathology, Epilepsy Research and Treatment, Neuroscience of Respiration and Sleep, Ion Channel Regulation and Function, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms, as well as Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research.

Kaila has coauthored numerous publications with frequent collaborators including Juha Voipio, Samu Kurki, Tommi Ala-Kurikka, Alexey S. Pospelov, and Wolfgang Löscher. The publications have appeared predominantly in journals such as Epilepsia, EMBO Reports, PLoS ONE, Trends in Neurosciences, and Acta Neuropathologica Communications.

Notable recent papers authored or coauthored by Kaila include:

  • The Multifaceted Roles of KCC2 in Cortical Development (2021, Trends in Neurosciences)
  • APOE ε4 associates with increased risk of severe COVID-19, cerebral microhaemorrhages and post-COVID mental fatigue: a Finnish biobank, autopsy and clinical study (2021, Acta Neuropathologica Communications)
  • NKCC1, an Elusive Molecular Target in Brain Development: Making Sense of the Existing Data (2020, Cells)
  • CNS pharmacology of NKCC1 inhibitors (2021, Neuropharmacology)
  • Expression patterns of NKCC1 in neurons and non-neuronal cells during cortico-hippocampal development (2022, Cerebral Cortex)

Kaila's research contributions reflect an emphasis on understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying brain development, neurological disorders, and related pharmacology. The scientist's work includes studies on ion transporter proteins such as KCC2 and NKCC1, exploring their roles in cortical development and potential pharmacological targeting.

The frequent appearance in the journal Epilepsia, with six publications, indicates sustained involvement in epilepsy research and treatment investigations. Meanwhile, contributions in major interdisciplinary venues confirm engagement with broader neurological and molecular biology topics.

Best Publications

  • The K+/Cl- co-transporter KCC2 renders GABA hyperpolarizing during neuronal maturation.

    Claudio Rivera;Juha Voipio;John A. Payne;Eva Ruusuvuori

  • Graph theoretical analysis of magnetoencephalographic functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease.

    C. J. Stam;W. de Haan;A. Daffertshofer;B. F. Jones

  • Cation–chloride co-transporters in neuronal communication, development and trauma

    John A Payne;Claudio Rivera;Juha Voipio;Kai Kaila

  • Cation-chloride cotransporters and neuronal function.

    Peter Blaesse;Matti S. Airaksinen;Claudio Rivera;Kai Kaila

  • Phase Synchrony among Neuronal Oscillations in the Human Cortex

    J. Matias Palva;Satu Palva;Kai Kaila

  • Ionic basis of GABAA receptor channel function in the nervous system

    Kai Kaila

  • Cation-chloride cotransporters in neuronal development, plasticity and disease

    Kai Kaila;Theodore J. Price;John A. Payne;Martin Puskarjov

  • Perturbed Chloride Homeostasis and GABAergic Signaling in Human Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

    Gilles Huberfeld;Lucia Wittner;Stéphane Clemenceau;Michel Baulac

  • Modulation of pH by neuronal activity

    M. Chesler;K. Kaila

  • BDNF-induced TrkB activation down-regulates the K+–Cl− cotransporter KCC2 and impairs neuronal Cl− extrusion

    Claudio Rivera;Hong Li;Judith Thomas-Crusells;Hannele Lahtinen

  • Mechanism of Activity-Dependent Downregulation of the Neuron-Specific K-Cl Cotransporter KCC2

    Claudio Rivera;Juha Voipio;Judith Thomas-Crusells;Hong Li

  • Infraslow oscillations modulate excitability and interictal epileptic activity in the human cortex during sleep

    S. Vanhatalo;J. M. Palva;M. D. Holmes;J. W. Miller

  • Inhibition and brain work

    György Buzsáki;Kai Kaila;Marcus Raichle

  • Long-Lasting GABA-Mediated Depolarization Evoked by High-Frequency Stimulation in Pyramidal Neurons of Rat Hippocampal Slice Is Attributable to a Network-Driven, Bicarbonate-Dependent K+ Transient

    Kai Kaila;Karri Lamsa;Sergei Smirnov;Tomi Taira

  • Two developmental switches in GABAergic signalling: the K+–Cl− cotransporter KCC2 and carbonic anhydrase CAVII

    Claudio Rivera;Juha Voipio;Kai Kaila

  • Interstimulus interval dependence of the auditory vertex response and its magnetic counterpart: implications for their neural generation.

    R Hari;K Kaila;T Katila;T Tuomisto

  • The cellular, molecular and ionic basis of GABA(A) receptor signalling.

    Mark Farrant;Kai Kaila

  • Evaluation of commercially available electrodes and gels for recording of slow EEG potentials.

    P. Tallgren;S. Vanhatalo;K. Kaila;J. Voipio

  • Postsynaptic fall in intracellular pH induced by GABA-activated bicarbonate conductance.

    K. Kaila;J. Voipio

  • Development of neonatal EEG activity: From phenomenology to physiology

    Sampsa Vanhatalo;Kai Kaila

  • KCC2 interacts with the dendritic cytoskeleton to promote spine development.

    Hong Li;Stanislav Khirug;Chunlin Cai;Anastasia Ludwig

  • Dopamine and performance in a reinforcement learning task: evidence from Parkinson's disease.

    Tamara Shiner;Ben Seymour;Klaus Wunderlich;Ciaran Hill

Frequent Co-Authors

Juha Voipio
Juha Voipio University of Helsinki
Sampsa Vanhatalo
Sampsa Vanhatalo University of Helsinki
Claudio Rivera
Claudio Rivera University of Helsinki
Tomi Taira
Tomi Taira University of Helsinki
J. Matias Palva
J. Matias Palva Aalto University
Mart Saarma
Mart Saarma University of Helsinki
Sari E. Lauri
Sari E. Lauri University of Helsinki
Matti S. Airaksinen
Matti S. Airaksinen University of Helsinki
Risto J. Ilmoniemi
Risto J. Ilmoniemi Aalto University
Riitta Hari
Riitta Hari Aalto University

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