Inputs are passed by the sensory organs to the pineal gland and from there to the immaterial spirit.

He suggested that the interaction between these two domains occurs inside the brain, perhaps in a small midline structure called the pineal gland.

Although it is widely accepted that Descartes explained the problem cogently, few later philosophers have been happy with his solution, and his ideas about the pineal gland have especially been ridiculed.

The point of interaction between the two are at the pineal gland in the brain.

The pineal gland was also used in Descartes's explanation of Cartesian Dualism as the " seat of the soul " and the connection between the material and immaterial world.

Dr. Rick Strassman, while conducting DMT research in the 1990s at the University of New Mexico, advanced the controversial hypothesis that a massive release of DMT from the pineal gland prior to death or near death was the cause of the near death experience ( NDE ) phenomenon.

' Basing his reasoning on his belief that all the enzymatic material needed to produce DMT is found in the pineal gland ( see evidence in mammals ), and moreover in substantially greater concentrations than in any other part of the body, Strassman ( p. 69 ) has speculated that DMT is made in the pineal gland.

In 2011, Nicholas V. Cozzi, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, concluded that INMT, an enzyme that may be associated with the biosynthesis of DMT and endogenous hallucinogens, is present in the human pineal gland, retinal ganglion neurons, spinal cord, and central nervous tissues.

These ganglion cells, which contain melanopsin, convey their signals to the " circadian clock " via the retinohypothalamic tract ( distinct from the optic nerve ), linking the retina to the pineal gland.

The cycle begins when the increased day length causes the pineal gland to reduce the levels of melatonin, thereby allowing the hypothalamus to secrete GnRH.

Many formulations have forms of fluoride attached to assist in permeating the blood – brain barrier, which is suspected as a factor in pineal gland effects.

Descartes argued that the mind interacts with the body at the pineal gland.

Descartes suggested that the pineal gland is " the seat of the soul " for several reasons.

First, the soul is unitary, and unlike many areas of the brain the pineal gland appeared to be unitary ( though subsequent microscopic inspection has revealed it is formed of two hemispheres ).

Second, Descartes observed that the pineal gland was located near the ventricles.

He believed the cerebrospinal fluid of the ventricles acted through the nerves to control the body, and that the pineal gland influenced this process.

They are created by an abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, usually in the brain itself, but also in lymphatic tissue, in blood vessels, in the cranial nerves, in the brain envelopes ( meninges ), skull, pituitary gland, or pineal gland.

This hormone appears to be excreted by the pineal gland early during the sleep cycle and may contribute to our circadian rhythms.

The SCN takes the information on the lengths of the day and night from the retina, interprets it, and passes it on to the pineal gland, a tiny structure shaped like a pine cone and located on the epithalamus.

* melatonin secretion by the pineal gland

Another theory is that the cause may be related to melatonin which is produced in dim light and darkness by the pineal gland, since there are direct connections, via the retinohypothalamic tract and the suprachiasmatic nucleus, between the retina and the pineal gland.

In response, the pineal secretes the hormone melatonin.

The hormones DHEA ( a steroid ), pregnenolone ( also a steroid ) and the pineal hormone melatonin are marketed as dietary ingredients in supplements in the US.

The primary hormones involved in regulating translocation appear to be the melanocortins, melatonin and melanin concentrating hormone ( MCH ), that are produced mainly in the pituitary, pineal gland and hypothalamus respectively.

Melatonin, produced in the pineal gland which is outside of the blood – brain barrier, acts as an endocrine hormone since it is released into the blood.

In 1958 dermatology professor Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues at Yale University, in the hope that a substance from the pineal might be useful in treating skin diseases, isolated the hormone from rat urine and named it melatonin.

The pineal hormone melatonin and its conjugated esters are present in morning urine in significant quantities, the pineal gland secreting melatonin maximally at about 2 am, this secretion being shut off by the eyes ' exposure to bright sunlight.

* They contribute to photic regulation of, and acute photic suppression of, release of the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland.

Several studies have indicated that pineal melatonin feeds back on SCN rhythmicity to modulate circadian patterns of activity and other processes.

In humans, melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a small endocrine gland located in the center of the brain but outside the blood – brain barrier.

Production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light to the retina and permitted by darkness.

The use of melatonin derived from animal pineal tissue may carry the risk of contamination or the means of transmitting viral material.

demonstrated that the production of melatonin exhibits a circadian rhythm in human pineal glands.

The brain has a pineal gland, a feature formerly thought to be absent in the owls .< ref > Birds show variation in the melatonin concentration between day and night.

The SCN sends information to other hypothalamic nuclei and the pineal gland to modulate body temperature and production of hormones such as cortisol and melatonin.

The latter is implicated along with melatonin in the role of the pineal gland in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.

Axelrod and colleagues went on to show that melatonin had wide-ranging effects throughout the central nervous system, allowing the pineal gland to function as a biological clock.

Some functions of its components include the secretion of melatonin by the pineal gland ( involved in circadian rhythms ), and regulation of motor pathways and emotions.

Although the necessary constituents ( see methyltransferases ) needed to make DMT are found in the pineal gland, the enzyme's stereospecificity only allows for the conversion of serotonin to melatonin and vice versa.

His expertise involving brain disease led directly to the first successful removal of a brain tumor, which was performed by R. Köhler, and with Fedor Krause ( 1857-1937 ), he reported the first successful removal of a pineal tumor.

Melatonin is secreted into the blood by the pineal gland in the brain.

* the pineal recess ( protruding into the stalk of the pineal gland )

This Pretorius is a impotent sadist ( with a room full of bondage gear ) who is assimilated by the ' Beyond ' and attempts to drag others into it, boasting that the pineal gland growth brought on by the resonator is like " an orgasm of the mind ".