It is well-established that neurons have a high energy (ATP) demand and that mitochondrial impairment can render neurons vulnerable to degeneration. However, surprisingly little is known about the involvement of mitochondria in the activation and plasticity of individual synapses. In this episode Vidhya Rangaraju, head of the Neuroenergetics Laboratory at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, talks about her research on mitochondria and ATP in presynaptic axon terminals and postsynaptic dendrites and their roles in presynaptic vesicle cycling and postsynaptic dendritic spine plasticity. Elucidation of roles for mitochondrial dynamics and signaling in synaptic compartments will advance an understanding of mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the healthy brain and of dysfunction and degeneration of synapses in neurodegenerative disorders.

LINKS

Rangaraju laboratory:

https://rangarajulab.org/

Research findings discussed in this episode

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2814%2900013-0

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2818%2931627-1

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10766606/pdf/41467_2023_Article_44233.pdf

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.09.648032v1

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12407993/pdf/nihpp-2025.08.27.672715v1.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4091730/pdf/nihms596598.pdf