do u think mitochondria play any roll in neural signal transmition?

Question

plz give stable proof 2 ur answer.

Answer 1

Although it is well known that the mitochondria convert organic materials into cellular energy in the form of ATP, mitochondria play an important role in many metabolic tasks, such as:
Glutamate-mediated excitotoxic neuronal injury (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondria)
Glutamate is the most abundant fast excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system. At chemical synapses, glutamate is stored in vesicles. Nerve impulses trigger release of glutamate from the pre-synaptic cell. In the opposing post-synaptic cell, glutamate receptors, such as the NMDA receptor, bind glutamate and are activated. Because of its role in synaptic plasticity, it is believed that glutamic acid is involved in cognitive functions like learning and memory in the brain.

Glutamate transporters[3] are found in neuronal and glial membranes. They rapidly remove glutamate from the extracellular space. In brain injury or disease, they can work in reverse and excess glutamate can accumulate outside cells. This process causes calcium ions to enter cells via NMDA receptor channels, leading to neuronal damage and eventual cell death, and is called excitotoxicity. The mechanisms of cell death include:

* Damage to mitochondria from excessively high intracellular Ca2+[4].
* Glu/Ca2+-mediated promotion of transcription factors for pro-apoptotic genes, or downregulation of transcription factors for anti-apoptotic genes.

Excitotoxicity due to glutamate occurs as part of the ischemic cascade and is associated with stroke and diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, lathyrism, and Alzheimer's disease.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamate)