Y'all Like Sleep?
You can thank the the Pineal Gland for that one
Pineal Gland
BACKGROUND
Also known as the Pineal Body, Epiphysis Cerebri, Epiphysis, or “Third Eye." It has also been referred to as the endocrine clock and calendar
It's Function was discovered last within all the endocrine glands
Some early vertebrate fossil skulls have a pineal foramen, which would explain a “third eye” and photoreception.
Before the physiological function of the pineal gland was discovered, it was believed that the pineal gland was the connecting link between the spiritual and physical worlds. Psychic talents have been associated with the “organ of higher vision” (pineal gland)
Originally considered “Seat of the soul” or “Spiritual gateway”. Meta-physical experts talk about completing spiritual practices in dark to help stimulate pineal gland. (since activated by darkness) However, must detoxify pineal gland and activate it through methods of dieting, and spiritual practices such as meditation and visualization
This gland is located in the epithalamus, where the two halves of the thalamus join together
· Sits in a groove above the thalamus
· Not isolated from the body by the blood-brain barrier
· Located next to the aqueduct of Sylvius, which serves as a passage allowing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to leave the center of the brain where it is first produced
· Pineal cytostructure seems to have evolutionary similarities to the retinal cells of chordates
The only hormone that the pineal gland secretes is melatonin a derivative of serotonin, which plays a role in the circadian rhythm, photoperiodic functions and regulates reproductive hormones
The pineal gland grows in size until about 1-2 years of age, although the weight increases gradually from puberty onwards
· Shaped like a pine cone
· Reddish-gray
· 8mm long
· Pinealocytes and neuroglia cells
Secretion of melatonin is dictated by light
When light is present, melatonin is inhibited. When light is absent, melatonin is secreted. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the day
· Activity of the rate-limiting enzyme in melatonin synthesis (serotonin N-acetyltransferase) is low during daylight and peaks during the dark phase
How is the light transferred to the gland
The light from the retina is relayed to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Fibers from the hypothalamus descend to the spinal cord and project to the superior cervical ganglia, and then post-ganglionic neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. Therefore the pineal gland transduces signals form the sympathetic nervous system into a hormonal system
What is the circadian rhythm?
The pineal gland leads to
- Better sleep: increases quality and quantity
- Enhanced immune function: reduces incidence of colds and infections. Perhaps buffers the adverse effects of stress
- Mood elevator
- Powerful antioxidant capabilities: since melatonin is water and fat soluble, it can reach all areas of the body
Contains levels of calcium, fluoride, and phosphorus, which can be used with radiographs to detect the middle of the brain. These minerals are built up in the pineal gland as a person ages (“brain-sand”)
Works with the hypothalamus to control thirst, hunger, sexuality, and aging process, as well as the circadian rhythm
“Several studies have shown that melatonin protects rodent pancreatic b-cells against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced damage and the subsequent development of type 1 diabetes.
CAUSE/RISK FACTORS
- Cranial dysfunction can cause secretory changes
- Too much artificial light
- Wearing tinted glasses too often
- Stress, refined sugars, and other factors that increase epinephrine output will increase melatonin dysfunction and increase chances of dysfunction
- Epinephrine medications
- People that work at night and do not get out in the sun during the day will never inhibit secretion and overtax the gland
- Calcification is the build up of calcium phosphate crystals in various parts of the body. Nanobacteria form calcium phosphate shells around their bodies to protect themselves from the body’s immune system. This can be linked to diseases such as arthritis, stroke, cancer, back pain, obesity, etc.
HYPERACTIVITY
- Too much melatonin will make a person feel exhausted or “drugged” throughout the day
- Abundant melatonin levels in children are believed to inhibit sexual development
- Hypotension, decreased levels of estrogen/progesterone ration and poor function of adrenal and thyroid gland
- Seasonal Affective Disorder and Cyclic Depressions
HYPOACTIVITY
- Inadequate secretion of melatonin leads to a decreased in quality and quantity of sleep. Causing a person to wake up too soon or decrease the ability to fall asleep
- Without the pineal gland a person is unable to adapt physiologically to seasonal changes
- People with major depressive, panic disorder, or mood swings have decreased levels of melatonin
- Declines in melatonin production can be suggested to aid in aging, sexual dysfunction, hypertension, epilepsy and Paget’s disease
- Removal of the pineal gland or reduction in melatonin secretion has implications for increased incidence of breast cancer
- Neuroaxonal dystrophy is a characteristic of pathologic alterations in postganglionic noradrenergic terminals in the pineal glands of aged rats and humans
- The changes in pineal innervation may result in the known loss of functional sympathetic input
- Decrease in melatonin secretion
- The increase in pineal NGF may represent a primary abnormality in NGF production by pineocytes
PREVENTION / TREATMENT:
- Do not take epinephrine medications
- Keep stress and refined sugar intake to a minimum
- Eat foods high in lecithin
- Go to sleep early (between 9-10) and keep a regular sleeping cycle
- If the teres major tested weak, treat pituitary malfunction to ensure normal cranial biomechanics
- If a tumor or cyst is present, surgery is the best option to limit the impact on the brain and body
- Melatonin supplements
Pineal tumors have been linked with precocious puberty
“There is now evidence that melatonin may have a role in the biological regulation of circadian rhythms, sleep, mood, and ageing. Altered melatonin levels in cluster headache and migraine have been documented. Melatonin mechanisms are related to headache pathophysiology in many ways, including its anti-inflamma- tory effect, toxic free radical scavenging, reduction of proinflammatory cytokine up-regulation, nitric oxide synthase activity and dopamine release inhibition, membrane stabilization, GABA and opioid analgesia potentiation, glutamate neu- rotoxicity protection, neurovascular regulation, serotonin modulation, and the similarity of chemical structure to that of indomethacin”
Pineal Tumors
- 1% of all brain tumors / 3-8% of intracranial tumors in children
- Gliomas
- Germ Cell Tumors
- Pineal Cell Tumors
- 17 known types of tumors are benign
- Compress the aqueduct of Sylvius, causing a build up of pressure in the CSF (hydrocephalus)
- S&S
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Memory disturbances
- Visual changes
- Drowsiness
- Changes in speech
PINEAL CYST
- Pineal cysts occur in all ages, predominantly in adults in the fourth decade of life
- The diagnosis of pineal cyst is usually established by MRI with defined radiological criteria to distinguish benign pineal cyst from tumors of this area
- Pineal cysts usually have no clinical implications and remain asymptomatic for years
- S&S
- Headache
- Vertigo
- Visual and oculomotor disturbances
- Obstructive hydrocephalus
- Ataxia
- Motor and sensory impairment
- Mental and emotional disturbances
- Epilepsy
- Circadian rhythm disturbances
- Hypothalamic dysfunction of precocious puberty
- Secondary parkinsonism
Without the pineal gland a person would
- Lose their circadian rhythm
- Completely unable to fall asleep or wake up with the days
- Complete loss of the biological clock and aging
- Lose control over the secretion of reproductive hormones
- Unable mature sexually
- Decrease in sexual arousal
- Unable to maintain mood
- Unable to detect thirst or hunger
- Possibly increase chances of cancer or other illnesses
- Unable to adapt to the environment
- If one cannot adapt to their environment, they will be unable to thrive
The pineal gland drives the body for the most basic needs
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs: if the basic, physiological needs are not met, one cannot further themselves to safety, love, esteem or self-actualization.
The pineal gland is needed to sustain a meaningful, happy life
SOOOOOOO.... Basically, The Pineal Gland is like the greatest thing ever
Brought to you by #namethegnome
- Emily Jackson
- Sydney Lister
- Gabby Shaprio
- Meghan Schroeder
- Brook Burton
Resources
Adonai. (2012, Jan 24). Why pineal gland and mental health are most important in these times. Retrieved from http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/01/24/why-pineal-gland-and-mental-health-are-most-important-in-these-times/
Bosnjak J, Budisić M, Azman D, Strineka M, Crnjaković M, Demarin V. (2009, Sep). Pineal gland cysts: an overview. Acta Clin Croa;48(3):355-8. PubMed PMID:20055263.
Bowen. R. (2003, March 17). The Pineal Gland and Melatonin. Retrieved from http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/otherendo/pineal.html
Dyer. W. (2012). Decalcify Pineal Gland. Retrieved from http://decalcifypinealgland.com/what-is-the-pineal-gland/
E Medicine Health. (2015). Pineal Tumor. Retrieved from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pineal_tumors/article_em.htm
Group. E. (2015, May 3). Everything you wanted to know about the pineal gland. Retrieved from http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-pineal-gland/
Health Newsletter. (2010, May 31). The Endocrine System: hypothalamus, pituitary, & pineal glands. Retrieved from http://jonbarron.org/article/endocrine-system-hypothalamus-pituitary-pineal-glands#.VjohFoTsU68
Peres. M. F. (2005, June 25). Melatonin, the Pineal Gland and their Implications for Headache Disorders. Cephalalgia: 403-411, doi:10.1111/j.1468-2982.2005.00889.x
Peschke, E., Wolgast, S., Bazwinsky, I., Pönicke, K. and Muhlbauer, E. (2008), Increased melatonin synthesis in pineal glands of rats in streptozotocin induced type 1 diabetes. Journal of Pineal Research, 45: 439–448. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2008.00612.x
Robert E. Schmidt, Denise A. Dorsey, Curtis A. Parvin, Lucie N. Beaudet. (2006, Oct). Sympathetic neuroaxonal dystrophy in the aged rat pineal gland, Neurobiology of Aging, Volume 27, Issue 10, Pages 1514-1523, ISSN 0197-4580
Sargis, R. (2014, June 10). An Overview of the Pineal Gland. Retrieved from http://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/overview-pineal-gland
Springer. (2009). Pineal Gland. Retrieved from https://www.myvits.com/pineal/vitamins.aspx
You & Your Hormones. (2015, Jan). Pineal Gland. Retrieved from http://www.yourhormones.info/glands/pineal_gland.aspx
DNews (2013, June) How Your Brain's Internal Clock Works [video file] retrieved from
Zapatou (Luc Bergeron) (2013, April) Amazing People Complication [video file] retrived from http://youtu.be/ZBCOMG2F2Zk
Get Heath Naturally (2012, August) 3 Reasons Melatonin Attacks the Aging of Your Body- Melatonin [video file] retrieved from http://youtu.be/hZ-bh_WFX2s
Burton, B (2015, NOV) Spiritual Gateway [video file] retrieved from http://youtu.be/neM3yBtws00