The Pineal Gland


History

Tibetan monks spoke, and still do today, of a third eye, located approximately in the center of the brain and between the eyes, which had been the center of clairvoyance and intuition, and that in the course of the times had been stunted, so it was necessary to recover. Later this third eye would be associated with the pineal gland.

The existence of the epiphysis or pineal has been known for more than 2000 years. Galen in the second century, wrote that the anatomical Greek had drawn attention to the particular situation of the gland, concluding that it served as a valve to regulate the flow of thought, which was believed to be stored in the lateral ventricles of the brain.

Descartes, in the seventeenth century, expressed his belief that the pineal was the seat of the rational soul. For him, the sensations perceived by the eyes would reach the pineal, from which they would depart towards the muscles, which would produce the appropriate responses. Modern studies show in this, as in other aspects of his thinking, the great intuition of the philosopher.

Physical characteristics, situation and relationships

The pineal name is due to its shape, similar to a pineapple, its approximate size being that of a pea. It weighs an average of 173 milligrams, ranging from people between 41 and 804 milligrams.

The pine trees collected in autopsies weigh a maximum in the month of March in the man, and a minimum if they are examined in July; while in women, the maximum weight is obtained from those collected in January and the minimum, from those obtained in May.

It is located on the roof of the midbrain, between the cranial tubercles, in the so-called pineal fossa. Its cranial face is below the corpus callosum, and its base borders the third ventricle. Its functional cell is the pinealocito, which is capable of producing the enzymes necessary for the synthesis of melatonin (its main hormone) and seratonin, from tryptophan.

Pinealocite and melatonin synthesis

Melatonin was discovered in 1958 by dermatologist and biochemist AB Lerner, who relied on the observations made by MC. Cord and Allen in 1917. These observations deduced that, by throwing extracts of cow pineal in the water in which tadpoles swam, there was a whitening of their skin.

Lerner and Cols purified extracts from more than 200, 000 pineal vaccines, isolating a substance that added intracellular melanin. The melanocyte-stimulating hormone, on the contrary, disintegrated these granules darkening the skin. It was called melatonin as opposed to melanocyte-stimulant.

In the absence of light, the pinealocite receives periodic stimulation in the form of nor-epinephrine (NE), seratonin or electrical discharges of nerve fibers, from the superior suprachiasmatic nucleus. This, in turn, receives information that comes from the vegetative system, through emerging neurons of the upper cervical ganglion, which connects with other nodes of the spinal cord.

In the presence of light, natural or artificial, the photoreceptors of the retina convert the light signal, especially in the yellow-green band, into an electrical signal, which is transmitted by the retino-hypothalamic tract to the upper cervical ganglion, where it leaves the CNS, connecting with the marrow ganglia and abolishing the circadian signal sent by said ganglion to the suprachiasmatic nucleus. As a consequence, said nucleus is released from the influence of the spinal cord and slows the rate of release of NE over the pineal, which results in a lower uptake of amino acids, especially tryptophan, by the pinealocite; lower production of adenyl cyclase and cAMP and, consequently, lower production and release of melatonin.

Any activation of the sympathetic system abolishes the repressive effect of light.

Pineal gland and puberty

The pineal gland is larger in childhood than in maturity, beginning to decrease in size from 7 years. This recession in size was considered as an involution or atrophy of a gland that lacked utility, but today it is thought to be a maturation process.

From birth, testicles and ovaries have a sufficiently prepared structure that maturation occurs in the presence of the appropriate gonadotropin stimulus in a short time. However, this stimulus does not occur. The pituitary gland, capable of producing these gonadotropins, in the presence of the appropriate hypothalamic stimulus of gonadotropin-relaxin-hormone GnRH, does not produce them due to lack thereof.

In adults, sex steroids self-regulate, by binding to specific hypothalamic receptors, which, starting from a certain blood concentration, trigger the endorphin-producing opatergic pathway (physiological opiates). This, in turn, distorts the pulsatility of GnRH, which slows the production and release of gonadotropins, so that the ovaries or testicles (gonads) in the absence of such stimulus, stop producing sexual steroids, decreasing their concentration in the blood . With this, the steroids bound to the receptors are released and the release of GnRH is activated again. The same should happen in the child, and yet it does not happen.

Melatonin has the same affinity, for the hypothalamic receptors of sex steroids, than these. In childhood, a greater amount of melatonin is produced than in maturity, so that it is constantly bound to these receptors, triggering the opiatergic pathway, thus preventing the release of GnRH and, consequently, gonadal maturation.

From the age of 7, the pineal progressively decreases in size, and consequently the blood concentration of melatonin decreases until a time comes when it no longer binds to a sufficient number of hypothalamic receptors, the opiaturgical pathway is blocked and produced by First time the release and synthesis of GnRH. This happens after 11 years in women, and 12 years in men. In towns, puberty happens later than in cities, which is due to less light consumption in these than in those.

Other functions of the pineal

It simultaneously controls all hypothalamic neuroendocrine centers, and consequently all releasing and inhibiting factors. Although its mechanism and action are unknown, some of its indirect effects on the pituitary gland are known. It decreases the concentrations of GnRH and, consequently, decreases those of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteotropic (LH); It decreases thyroid function (TSH and T4), insulin and blood glucose concentrations also increase, ATCH and corticosterone decreases. It increases brain protein synthesis, as does the production and release of dopamine (DA). As a consequence, an increase in growth hormone (GH) and decrease in TSH and prolactin (PRL) can be expected.

Commentary

Our knowledge of pineal and its hormone, melatonin, as well as the numerous gaps we have about them, barely allow us to draw a reasonable outline of how they work, which will undoubtedly be modified over time. light of new findings.

Since silence, in normal conditions, usually accompanies darkness, we can think that both stimulate the release of melatonin. This, in turn, would lead to the release of endorphins that would numb the rest of the senses (touch, smell and taste).

Having achieved this, the subconscious and, therefore, the vegetative system, would be free of all conscious control, producing on the one hand the processes of growth (childhood) and tissue regeneration (adults), and on the other, the liberation of the subconscious in the form of dreams.

Dreams and sight

The melanocyte-stimulating hormone is excited by light, while melatonin is by light. While the first (MSH) disintegrates the melanin granules, producing the sensation of darkness, the second adds them giving the sensation of luminosity (white). We can think that in the CNS there is an area of ​​cells that, as a film, are impressed by the interrelation of both hormones, by the mentioned mechanism. During the day, luminous impressions mediated by MSH will predominate, while at night, they will be impressions from the subconscious and mediated especially by melatonin. We would thus have a positive and a negative.

For a dream to exist, it is required that previously, and as in a video, we have filmed the images that, although sometimes messy, will be part of it. Dreams sometimes serve as an escape valve to our tensions, others are a warning disguised as situations that we are guilty of and that we have to rectify, and in others, they are warnings prior to situations that we have to go through and solutions to overcome them. As we can see, dreams pass through the pine grove and normally escape our consciousness, so that in most cases, they reach it in a distorted or symbolic way. In any case, they are part of our reality.

Changing customs and the pineal

With the discovery of artificial light by Edison, our customs have been revolutionized, so that they have altered our life system, our relationship with the Cosmic and also our health. We currently enjoy, but also suffer from, greater light and sound periods to the detriment of regenerative darkness and silence. We have lost a part of our harmony with the Cosmic, which we pay with a lower development of our pine grove, with a slight atrophy of it. Our lower amounts of melatonin segregation make our regenerative processes partially insufficient, as well as the rest of our mind, which becomes obsessive and possessive. Never before have there been so many depressions, obsessions and insomnia.

Pineal and mysticism

The AMORC intends, through some of its exercises, to restore the harmony of the pineal with the Cosmic, so that the regenerative processes partly forgotten by our customs are fully restored. In no way is hypertrophy of the gland intended, which would further disharmonize us with the Cosmic.

In most of our exercises we observe that penumbra, silence or soft music, and certain soft incense aromas are advised. All this leads to a greater increase in melatonin, helping us not to lose our consciousness and fall asleep. With this, we can become aware of our subconscious, and use it in our favor (and in favor of humanity), through processes of visualization and emission of feelings of Love and Deep Peace, from our Inner Being.

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC - Spanish Grand Lodge

- Seen at: El-Amarna

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