The Pineal Gland: A Cognitive Advantage for Africans

[rivertemz]

The pineal gland is responsible for the production of melatonin, a hormone that is secreted in response to darkness, and is also the site in the brain where the highest levels of Serotonin can be found (Sun et al, 2001). In the pineal, 5-HT (Serotonin) concentration displays a remarkable diurnal pattern, with day levels much higher than night levels. Serotonin plays an important role in sleep, perception, memory, cardiovascular activity, respiratory activity, motor output, sensory and neuroendocrine function.

"my comments in red"




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Racial differences have been noted in the rate of pineal calcification as seen in plain skull radiographs. In Caucasians, calcified pineal is visualized in about 50% of adult skull radiographs after the age of 40 years (Wurtman et al, 1964); other scholars argue that Caucasians, in general, may have rates of pineal gland calcification as high as ­60-80% (King, 2001). Murphy (1968) reported a radiological pineal calcification rate of 2% from Uganda, while Daramola and Olowu (1972) in Lagos, Nigeria found a rate of 5%. Adeloye and Felson (1974) found that calcified pineal was twice as common in White Americans as in Blacks in the same city, strengthening a suspicion that there may be a true racial difference with respect to this apparatus. In India a frequency of 13.6% was found (Pande et al, 1984). Calcified pineal gland is a common finding in plain skull radiographs and its value in identifying the midline is still complementary to modern neuroradiological imaging.
, closely related to defective sense of direction (Bayliss et al, 1985). In a tricentre prospective study of 750 patients lateral skull radiographs showed that 394 had calcified pineal glands. Sense of direction was assessed by subjective questioning and objective testing and the results noted on a scale of 0-10 (where 10 equals perfect sense of direction). The average score for the 394 patients with pineal gland calcification was 3.7 (range 0-8), whereas the 356 patients without pineal gland calcification had an average score of 7.6 (range 2-10). This difference was highly significant (p less than 0.01) (Bayliss et al, 1985). Also, the effects of disturbed sleep and memory are well documented.




The Pineal Gland looks like a miniature pine cone and is situated in the middle of the brain beneath the two brain halves, surrounded by the ventricles, under the roof of the corpus callosum (cross-beam connecting the 2 brain halves). "please research on the importance of the pine cone or a pine-cone shape in ancient architecture, considered the internal/third eye"  This active organ has, together with the Pituitary Gland, the next highest blood circulation after the kidneys. The pineal gland is responsible for the production of melatonin, a hormone that is secreted in response to darkness, and is also the site in the brain where the highest levels of Serotonin can be found (Sun et al, 2001). In the pineal, 5-HT (Serotonin) concentration displays a remarkable diurnal pattern, with day levels much higher than night levels. Serotonin plays an important role in sleep, perception, memory, cardiovascular activity, respiratory activity, motor output, sensory and neuroendocrine function.




One study has shown a reciprocal relationship between the pineal and pituitary gland so that if the pineal is impaired, it affects the pituitary (Karasek and Reiter, 1982). This has a whole cascade of effects on the other glands and hormone production. The pituitary gland is an endocrine gland located at the base of the brain, and produces hormones, such as growth hormone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone.



Pineal indolamine (e.g. Melatonin/Serotonin) and peptide hormones influence immune functions. Melatonin, in particular, increases immune memory while T-dependent antigene immunization stimulates antibody production. According to Maestroni (1993), in an article published in the Journal of Pineal Research a tight physiological link between the pineal gland and the immune system is emerging that might reflect the evolutionary connection between self-recognition and reproduction. He goes further, mentioning that Pinealectomy or other experimental methods which inhibit melatonin synthesis and secretion induce a state of immunodepression which is counteracted by melatonin. In general, melatonin appears to have an immunoenhancing effect. An interesting observation is the apparent protection from autoimmune diseases in areas of West Africa and especially in places where malaria is a problem (Greenwood, 1968).






Scholars believe the reduction in melatonin with age may be contributory to aging and the onset of age-related diseases. This theory is based on the observation that melatonin is the most potent hydroxyl radical scavenger thus far discovered (Reiter, 1995). Prominent theories of aging attributes the rate of aging to accumulated free radical damage (Proctor, 1989; Reiter, 1995), and as Caucasians have higher rates of pineal calcification, which produces melatonin which is a vital free radical scavenger, some suspect that people of European descent may actually age faster than those from other continents.
"The phrase Black don't crack is no a joke!"







Pineal gland calcification has also been implicated in the onset of Multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Neuroradiological research has shown the pineal gland to be involved in the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis. In a 1991 study by Sandyk R, and Awerbuch G.I published in the “International Journal of Neuroscience”, it was shown that Pineal Calcification was found in 100 % of MS patients. The strikingly high prevalence of pineal calcification in Multiple sclerosis provides indirect support for an association between MS and abnormalities of the pineal gland (Sandyk and Awerbuch, 1991). Multiple Sclerosis tends to affect Caucasians disproportionately, and is nearly unheard of in Africa and is rare among African Americans. A high prevalence of pineal calcification has also been linked to bipolar disorder.

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Genetics> Pineal Gland: A Cognitive Advantage for Africans







The segment from Hidden colors 2 on melanin and the pineal gland, but I don't think they dug too deep into this information;












I personally will continue to study the pineal gland in my University course and get more updated information on this study.
Apparently many European Research Summits place a huge importance on the studying the pineal gland...this would be interesting to look into.

[rivertemz]

Mysteries Of The Pineal Gland

The Pineal Gland is regarded as one of the most important parts of your nervous system. It is shrouded in mystery, but as more and more people investigate it they are realising it is essentially a spiritual antenna, the mystical third eye that ancient traditions have been talking about. For many eons, the third eye has been seen as a way to reach higher levels of consciousness while still being present in a physical body.



This concept of the pineal gland being the “seat of the soul” or the “spiritual gateway to all realms and all dimensions” is important to realising its full function. Before you can reach this spiritual gateway, you must start the practise of both detoxifying your pineal gland and activating your pineal gland, through methods such as changes in diet (see How to decalcify your pineal gland) and spiritual practices such as meditation and visualisation.

Dr. Swami Karmananda Saraswati, MB, BS (Syd) 

Scientists have been mystified by the pineal gland for centuries. As the brain and central nervous and endocrine systems were progressively unravelled by the anatomists, physiologists and biochemists, the pineal gland resolutely refused to yield up its secrets. Until recently the scientific community regarded it as having no function in man, being but a vestigial remnant from an earlier stage in evolution. However, in the last few years interest in the gland has reached a climax when no fewer than ten national and international conferences devoted entirely to unravelling the secrets of the mysterious pineal have been held around the world.

History 

It is interesting to trace the scientific history of the pineal gland to the present day. The ancients attached great significance to this tiny structure. The Greek anatomist Herophilis, in the 4th century B.C. called the gland ‘a sphincter which regulates the flow of thought’. This suggests that he was well aware that the pineal functions as a transducer between the mental and physical realms. The early Latin anatomists termed the pineal ‘the master gland’ indicating that they knew the pineal exerts a higher control over the endocrine system, including the pituitary gland. Up until very recently, modern endocrinologists have considered the pituitary to be the highest controlling gland of all the other endocrine glands of the body. The Latins termed the pineal the ‘glandula superior’ in distinction to the pituitary which they termed ‘glandula inferior’. They clearly designated the pineal to be a ‘gland’, even though it was not until 1958 that modern researchers isolated melatonin from the pineal to prove conclusively that it was a glandular structure.

In 1886 two micro anatomists, H.W. De Graff and E. Baldwin Spencer, independently discovered that the pineal is a rudimentary eye, possessing all the essential features of the external eyes with pigmented, retinal cells surrounding an inner chamber filled with a globular lens like mass. Subsequent research has proved that the gland actually responds to environmental light, both directly and via the nervous pathways from the external eyes. *1 It is surely beyond a coincidence that the yogic texts of India and the mystical traditions throughout the ages have spoken of the ‘eye of intuition’ and the ‘third eye’ when referring to the pineal gland.



In recent years, two hormones, melatonin and serotonin, have been isolated from the pineal. The hormone melatonin (Greek for darkness, constricting) was isolated from the pineal gland in 1958 by Aaron B. Learner, an American dermatologist working at Yale Medical School (USA). This substance has been found to be responsible for the ability of certain frogs and fish to change colour in response to varying environmental light conditions and also to changes in emotional states such as anger and fear. It has subsequently been found to play a profound role in the onset of puberty and ongoing sexual development in human beings. It is found that the size and functional capacity of the pineal gland diminishes as children enter the pubertal years. The gland appears to hold back the onset of sexual development, and the release of this control by the pineal is the stimulus for the release of the pituitary’s sexual hormones which bring about the awakening of the reproductive systems in the male and female, and precipitate the adoption of a sexual role in life.

LINK

[nebsen]

A Dr. Richard King who is African American & a psychiatrist has been teaching about the Pineal gland & melanin & melatonin for a very long time. I began reading his writings in a Black metaphysical magazine called Uraeus : The Journal Of The Unconscious Life, out of Los Angles headed by a master teacher & metaphysician Dr. A. Ligon of The Aquarian Spiritual Center & Black Book store.

I studied with Dr. Richard King & Dr. Ligion in the late 70's , At that time they were teaching about the pineal gland & melanin in a ground breaking series called the" Black Dot". You can find Dr. Richard King videos on You Tube, where he talks about the subject; quality of video is not that good for they were copied from VFH tapes & did in the 80s or early 90's, but it is worth checking out for you will find information that is way ahead of it's time. The science committee did not want to touch the pineal gland & melatonin; they would only broach the subject in biology terms from what they understood, but secretly were dealing with the subject & investigating it in more detail, which you have today in your post.

[asante]

Let's take it up a notch!






Both the Jay's knows what this means!

[asante]

Three 6 mafia knows what this is ALLL about!








"The ancient Egyptians worried about an immigrant-tribe of blue-eyed people among them that seemed to have a proclivity for trouble-making. They had red or blonde hair and blue eyes and lived at the edge of the desert. The Egyptians called them Tamahu—the created ones—a clear allusion to their unnatural origins. More recently, a Jewish scientist at the University of Copenhagen confirmed that all blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor. Dr. Hans Eiberg refers to this condition as a “genetic mutation” and he says it occurred 6-10 thousand years ago. According to Mr. Elijah Muhammad this is EXACTLY when Mr. Yakub's work began on Patmos! Further, Dr. Eiberg and his team found a specific gene, known as the OCA2 gene, which if altered would result in human beings without melanin in their hair, eyes, or skin color—a condition known as albinism. Thus, this OCA2 gene was targeted and manipulated by some force or event around 6,000+ years ago."

[asante]

More on the Blood moons

[MorolongDithabeng]

"The ancient Egyptians worried about an immigrant-tribe of blue-eyed people among them that seemed to have a proclivity for trouble-making. They had red or blonde hair and blue eyes and lived at the edge of the desert. The Egyptians called them Tamahu—the created ones—a clear allusion to their unnatural origins. More recently, a Jewish scientist at the University of Copenhagen confirmed that all blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor. Dr. Hans Eiberg refers to this condition as a “genetic mutation” and he says it occurred 6-10 thousand years ago. According to Mr. Elijah Muhammad this is EXACTLY when Mr. Yakub's work began on Patmos! Further, Dr. Eiberg and his team found a specific gene, known as the OCA2 gene, which if altered would result in human beings without melanin in their hair, eyes, or skin color—a condition known as albinism. Thus, this OCA2 gene was targeted and manipulated by some force or event around 6,000+ years ago."

Care to explain further? also the connections on the link made to the 3rd eye, pineal gland and UV radiation