Mitochondria play a direct role in the production, release, and regulation of key neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and acetylcholine.

“Much more importantly, mitochondria provide the energy for the production of those neurotransmitters. And fascinatingly, mitochondria are directly related to the release of neurotransmitters. ATP alone is not enough. There have been some research studies that have actually found that mitochondria move along the membrane of the synapse to release batches of vesicles of neurotransmitters, and that if the mitochondria are removed from the synapse and researchers flood that cell with ATP, neurotransmitters usually are not getting released.”