The Mysterious Pineal Gland...

Commonly referred to as the 'third eye'...

The pineal gland, also known as the conarium, epiphysis cerebri, pineal organ, pineal body, or the 'third eye', plays a primary role in our 'circadian rhythm' ("roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria") as source of melatonin using tryptophan as a precursor. It is found in almost all species of vertebrates. The gland is roughly 5-8 mm in size and is located between the brain hemispheres, developing from the roof of the diencephalon.

The name comes from the latin word pinea which literally means "pinecone" as the shape and appearance of the gland resembles a pinecone. Historically, many cultures from the Egyptians to the Romans have revered the pineal gland for its association with spirituality and enlightenment and used the pinecone to symbolize it within their art. The famous French philosopher René Descartes was also very interested in anatomy and physiology and was one of the first scientists to speculate that the pineal gland was a source of the mind within the brain stating, "My view is that this gland [pineal gland] is the principal seat of the Soul."

Even with many technological and scientific advances, it's been long regarded as an 'enigmatic structure'. The pineal gland's function and features have still only begun to be appreciated as we continue to delve deeper into this gland, its relating hormones and the body in general.

The pineal gland is responsible for synthesizing melatonin and its precursor seratonin that's chemically made from the monoamine alkaloid 'tryptamine'. This is becoming increasingly important as sleep is now regarded as a more impactful factor on our health than exercise. Sleep expert and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California Berkeley, Matthew Walker, states that "if you’re regularly sleeping less than seven hours a night, you’re asking for trouble—trouble being everything from Alzheimer’s disease to diabetes to depression." So the quality and duration of your sleep, which influences how all aspects of our health function, is dependent on how well our pineal gland is producing and regulating melatonin, promoting a healthy sleep-cycle.

Not only is melatonin essential for our sleep cycle, it also possesses extraordinary antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune properties. These properties benefit and protect the heart and brain which can improve cognitive function, prevent damage to heart muscle and 'cancer support'.

Along with other sites in the brain, the 'spirit gland' is believed to be a source for neurosteroids such Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic (psychedelic) compound which is also chemically similar to melatonin and seratonin. DMT has recently received attention from the cultural mainstream and may be more commonly identified with the Amazonian botanical psychedelic brew 'ayahuasca'.

In 1965, a German research team announced they had isolated DMT in human blood and then in 1972 it was found in the human brain tissue. More recent studies have been conducted by Dr. Rick Strassman MD who wrote "The Spirit Molecule", a book that covers the history of DMT and his own research regarding the molecule. Strassman summarizes some significant points from his book:

Building upon existing data, I present several scenarios in which the pineal may produce DMT instead of melatonin. I speculate about endogenous DMT’s role in dreams, meditation, birth, near-death, and death. I suggest that the individual’s life-force enters the body through the pineal at 49 days after conception, and leaves it through the pineal gland at death. This 49-day prenatal period corresponds to the first signs of fetal pineal tissue, the differentiation of the gonads into male and female, and how long it takes between the death of an individual and its soul’s next rebirth according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. I suggest a meta-physical model in which biological, psychological, and spiritual drives or impulses all may exist in a dynamic tension within this spirit gland.

Though it is a gland, the microscopic structure of the pineal gland more resembles that of nervous tissue, being composed primarily of astrocytes and pinealocytes. It also surrounded by a layer of pia matter which is the same material that makes up the delicate innermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord.

Mainstream science even acknowledges the possible nerve connections within the gland. An excerpt from Wikipedia regarding the nerve supply of the gland reads: "The pineal gland receives a sympathetic innervation from the superior cervical ganglion. A parasympathetic innervation from the pterygopalatine and otic ganglia is also present. Further, some nerve fibers penetrate into the pineal gland via the pineal stalk (central innervation). Also, neurons in the trigeminal ganglion innervate the gland with nerve fibers containing the neuropeptide PACAP."

It also has an abundant supply of adrenergic nerves (neurons which are sensitive to the adrenal hormone epinephrine) that can have a significant impact on its function. Interestingly in lower vertebrates the 'third eye' contains 'rods' and 'cones', photoreceptors cells that sensory neurons that are responsible for visual phototransduction. Though in humans, the pineal gland is less like an "eye-structure", it is also considered to be "photosensitive" and similarly functions as a 'light receptor'.

In humans and higher mammals a “photoendocrine system”—made up of the retina, the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and noradrenergic sympathetic fibres (neurons responsive to the neurotransmitter norepinephrine) terminating in the pineal—provides light and circadian information that regulates pineal melatonin secretion.

Flouride and calcium deposits are commonly found in the pineal gland become more likely to develop as we age. X-rays have located such calcium deposits and autopsies have revealed fluoride deposits as well. http://www.icnr.com/articles/fluoride-deposition.html

Our happiness, spirituality and health are tied together... perhaps in the pineal gland... Taking back our health is the first step in fight the spiritual war against evil... God bless, friends! Like always, please, let me know what you guys think!