Executive Functioning Challenges as an Energy --- ATP Issue

​Val's Take/Conjecture

• ​​We are starting to hone in on Developmental Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a result of Maternal Immune Activation.
• These Energy issues are CRITICAL.  Societies, Professionals and Families are often perplexed by the IDIOSYNCRATIC ENERGY ISSUES of the person with a neuro-developmental and or psychiatric disorder.
• ​The failure to Treat and/or Accommodate those Energy Issues generally makes the person worse.

Brain levels of high-energy phosphate metabolites and executive function in geriatric depression (2016)

Conclusions: These findings suggest two independent sources of executive function dependence on bioenergetic state in the aging brain.

The dependence of executive function performance in subjects with late life depression on ATP in white matter may be associated with mitochondrial impairment and is consistent with predictions of the vascular depression hypothesis.

Further research with wider neuropsychological testing targeting bioenergetic markers could help clarify the scope of these effects. ​

​Prenatal immune activation in mice induces long-term alterations in brain mitochondrial function  (2024)

​Dr. Chris Palmer advocates a Metabolic Theory of Brain Disorder.

He and the Metabolic Mind folks advocate for a Keto Diet.

​Impaired mitochondrial function in bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder: a case study using 18F-BCPP-EF PET imaging of mitochondrial Complex I  (2024)

​Conclusions: Despite mounting evidence implicating mitochondria in BD [Bipolar Disorder], this study represents the first PET imaging study to investigate this mechanistic connection.

There were key limitations in the form of comorbid alcohol use disorder, limited statistical power inherent to a case study, no sex matched controls, and the absence of a comprehensive psychiatric history.

However, even with these limitations in mind, the significant overlap between dysfunction previously demonstrated on functional MRI and this imaging provides compelling preliminary evidence that strengthens the mechanistic link between mitochondrial dysfunction and BD [Bipolar Disorder].

Florence & the Machine
Free

​Florence Welch is a person with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and she's been open about substance issues.

I love this video.  Her Anxiety is being personified as an Old Man.

The video begins with Her Anxiety handing her a cup of coffee/caffeine for some Energy. 

[As an aside, comedian and mental health advocate Maria Bamford, often says, "I need another frickin' Diet Coke" --- something I can very much relate to.  

Further, some ADHD advocates do talk about using Caffeine medicinally.

There's even a sweatshirt on Etsy saying "I need a Diet Coke."]

When Florence is Dancing --- she has plenty of Energy, but most of the time she is running to catch-up.

She's presenting a  complicated, confusing picture --- a picture that many people with Neurodevelopmental & Psychiatric Disorders present.

Extracellular ATP Is a Homeostatic Messenger That Mediates Cell–Cell Communication in Physiological Processes and Psychiatric Diseases (2025)

​ Dysregulation of extracellular ATP leads to a destabilizing effect on the neural network, as found in the etiopathology of many psychiatric diseases, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder.

​In this review, we summarize advances in the understanding of the mechanisms by which extracellular ATP serves as an intercellular signaling molecule to regulate neural activity, with a focus on how it maintains the homeostasis of neural networks.

In particular, we also focus on neural activity issues that result from dysregulation of extracellular ATP and propose that aberrant levels of extracellular ATP may play a role in the etiopathology of some psychiatric diseases, highlighting the potential therapeutic targets of ATP signaling in the treatment of these psychiatric diseases.

Finally, we suggest potential avenues to further elucidate the role of extracellular ATP in intercellular communication and psychiatric diseases.

​The multifaceted role of mitochondria in autism spectrum disorder (2025)

Normal brain functioning relies on high aerobic energy production provided by mitochondria.

Failure to supply a sufficient amount of energy, seen in different brain disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may have a significant negative impact on brain development and support of different brain functions.

Mitochondrial dysfunction, manifested in the abnormal activities of the electron transport chain and impaired energy metabolism, greatly contributes to ASD.

The aberrant functioning of this organelle is of such high importance that ASD has been proposed as a mitochondrial disease. ​