cascade. Hence the energetic value of oxidative phosphorylation over glycolysis is
obvious. In the early stages of activation the increased energy demand is met by
glycolysis rather than oxidative phosphorylation. It was found with PET scans that
glucose utilization in activated cortical areas was not matched by an equivalent
increase in oxygen consumption, because Glycolysis does not require oxygen to
function.
Glucose is the energy fuel for the brain and is almost entirely oxidized to CO2
and H2O. A quarter of the total body’s glucose is utilized by the brain although
the brain only represents 2% of the body weight. Glucose can be incorporated into
lipids, proteins and glycogen, and it is also the precursor to certain neurotransmitters
such as GABA, glutamate and acetylcholine. GABA and glutamate serve to regulate
the excitability of virtually all neurons in the brain. GABA and glycine are the most
important inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brainstem and spinal cord. The
neurotransmitter glutamate is derived from glucose, and I think that glutamate is
probably the primary neurotransmitter involved in the changes in the conveyance
of energy through the nerves.
I propose that Nitric Oxide is produced in excess during certain hyper-kundalini
events causing a hypersensitivity to glutamate NMDA receptors and this produces
the most radical peak experiences and pivotal height of the awakening cycle
itself. Energy metabolism maybe controlled by specific neurotransmitters such as
norepinephrine (NE). Cell bodies of NE-containing neurons are localized in the
brainstem from which axons project to various regions of the brain including the
cerebral cortex. Hence the noradrenergic system could regulate energy homeostasis
globally in the brain.
Polarity is vitally important for all living cells, hence they continually work to
generate and maintain regions of differing electrical properties against continual
leakage of charge. In fact, the ceaseless work involved in achieving and maintaining
these electrical polarity needs consumes some 50–60% of the metabolic activity
of the cell. Cell polarity regulates cellular morphology, intracellular signaling,
asymmetric cell division, cell migration, cellular and tissue physiology as well as
complex organ morphogenesis.
“When our cells are functioning normally, a proton (H+, a hydrogen atom with
its positive charge) gradient exists across the oxygen-using parts of our cells, which keep
out calcium and sodium ions. But when these oxygen-using parts, the mitochondria, are
unable to make ATP, they cannot keep up the gradient. Sodium and calcium ions rush
into the cell in a fatal process of cell damage called necrosis. (269) If damage caused
by these [oxidative] reactants is not reversed to normal, there will be decreases in the
capacity to generate ATP, lower global biochemical activity, and reduced use of free
energy. The oxidative poisoning can lead to cell damage or trigger the mechanism of cell
self-destruction call apoptosis. (271) Levels of the intracellular antioxidant glutathione
fall when ATP is not around. Lowered ATP thus reduces the cell’s ability to make more
of the ATP it needs more than ever.” 270, Eric Schneider & Dorion Sagan, Into the
Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics and Life. University of Chicago, 2005