Chapter 15.

The Pineal Gland and Pineal Tumours

Prof Josephine Arendt
Updated: February 1, 2006

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INTRODUCTION
The pineal gland has variously been described as the 'Seat of the Soul' (by Renee Descartes), a good neuroradiological marker, and, in view of its shape in humans, the 'penis of the brain'. The rhythmic production of its major hormone melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is extensively used as a marker of the phase of the internal clock, and melatonin itself is successfully used as a therapy for certain abnormalities of the circadian system, and may have more extensive therapeutic applications. In lower vertebrates the pineal is an important determinant of rhythms. In mammals whose seasonal functions are timed by daylength, melatonin production at night provides a (probably) universal time cue for changing daylength. In humans, the evidence to date indicates that it serves to reinforce physiological events associated with darkness, such as sleep and to act as an internal time cue. The profile of its secretion defines biological night. Pineal Structure The pineal gland (epiphysis cerebri) is a small (100-150mg in humans), unpaired central structure, essentially an appendage of the brain. The mammalian pineal is a secretory organ, whereas in fish and amphibians it is directly photoreceptive (the 'third eye') and in reptiles and birds it has a mixed photoreceptor and secretory function. Pinealocytes retain elements of their photoreceptive evolutionary history in both structure and function (1, 2). In humans and some other species the gland usually shows a degree of calcification after puberty (3), and this process may well begin earlier in life. This phenomenon appears not to be associated with a decline in metabolic activity, except that activity declines in general with aging. The gland is richly vascularized. The principal innervation is sympathetic, arising from the superior cervical ganglion (4) with good evidence for parasympathetic, commissural, and peptidergic innervation (5). Major functional importance has only been shown for sympathetic innervation. Next MELATONIN SYNTHESIS AND METABOLISM