The MAM is a critical signaling, metabolic, and trafficking hub in the cell that allows for the integration of ER and mitochondrial physiology. Coupling between these organelles is not simply structural but functional as well and critical for overall cellular physiology and homeostasis. The MAM thus offers a perspective on mitochondria that diverges from the traditional view of this organelle as a static, isolated unit appropriated for its metabolic capacity by the cell. Instead, this mitochondrial-ER interface emphasizes the integration of the mitochondria, the product of an endosymbiotic event, into diverse cellular processes. Recently it has also been shown, that mitochondria and MAM-s in neurons are anchored to specialised intercellular communication sites (so called somatic-junctions). Microglial processes monitor and protect neuronal functions at these sites, and MAM-s are supposed to have an important role in this type of cellular quality-control.