pineal gland
Sign in to savesmall endocrine gland found in most vertebrates, which produces melatonin; in humans, located in the epithalamus, in a groove where the two halves of the thalamus join; its shape and size resembles a pine nut, after which it is named
AI overview
The pineal gland is a small gland in the brain that produces melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles. Located deep in the brain where two structures called the thalamus meet, it gets its name from its resemblance to a pine nut.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Research
16,018 papers- The pineal gland.Neonatal network : NN · 2000
- Current understanding of pineal gland structure and function in headache.Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · 2019
- Revisiting the pineal gland: a review of calcification, masses, precocious puberty, and melatonin functions.The International journal of neuroscience · 2020
- Human Pineal Gland Involutionary Process: New Findings.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023
- The pineal gland from development to function.Current topics in developmental biology · 2013
via PubMed
Article
The pineal gland (also called the pineal body) is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. It produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone, which modulates sleep patterns following the diurnal cycles. The shape of the gland resembles a pine cone, which gives it its name.
The pineal gland is located in the epithalamus, near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two halves of the thalamus join. It is one of the neuroendocrine secretory circumventricular organs in which capillaries are mostly permeable to solutes in the blood.