10/10/2025
💭The Pineal Gland
The Most Misunderstood Part of the Brain
When your child has a tumour in the centre of their brain, you quickly learn just how little the medical world truly knows about this tiny but powerful gland.
The pineal gland sits deep in the middle of the brain surrounded by critical structures that control vision, sleep, hormones, and even heart rate and stress responses.
It’s about the size of a grain of rice, yet it influences almost every function in the body.
🧠 What the Pineal Gland Actually Does
Most people have only heard of melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep.
But the pineal gland does much more than that it works as a neuroendocrine control centre, communicating constantly with the rest of the brain and body.
Here’s what current science shows it’s involved in:
Regulating the sleep/wake cycle
Modulating dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that control mood, alertness, motivation, and emotional balance
Influencing puberty timing and reproductive hormones
Affecting immune function and inflammation
Helping control the autonomic nervous system managing heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and stress reactions
Supporting circadian rhythms, which affect everything from digestion to cognition
So when something grows on or near the pineal like a cyst or tumour it’s not “nothing.” It’s sitting right at the control board of the body.
⚖️ Why There’s So Much Confusion
There are two main schools of thought about how pineal cysts and tumours cause symptoms:
1. The “Mechanical” View, Symptoms come from pressure on the aqueduct, veins, or nearby midbrain structures. This can cause headaches, vision problems, nausea, balance issues, and coordination difficulties.
2. The “Hormonal / Neurochemical” View Disruption of melatonin, serotonin, or dopamine rhythms can lead to fatigue, sleep problems, mood and cognitive changes, emotional surges, and other neurological symptoms.
The truth? Both can be true at once. Pressure on brain tissue can trigger electrical changes, and hormonal disruption can affect the nervous system just as powerfully.
🚨 The Reality: Modern Medicine Is Still Playing Catch-Up
Many neurosurgeons and neurologists still rely on textbooks and studies from the 1900s, which claimed pineal cysts were harmless unless they blocked fluid flow.
Back then, imaging was crude, and only patients with huge tumours were studied.
Today, families see the difference first-hand. Children and adults with even “small” pineal lesions report:
Cognitive difficulties and “spacing out”
Mood swings and irritability
Visual disturbances and light sensitivity
Dizziness, heart palpitations, or autonomic changes
Sleep disruption
Fatigue and fluctuations in daily functioning
Verbal or word-finding difficulties
These aren’t “anxiety.” They’re neurological and physiological, and the research community is only now starting to acknowledge it.
🩺 Surgery The Line Between Risk and Relief
One reason families struggle to get help for pineal gland tumours or cysts is because so few surgeons in the world are willing to operate.
The pineal region sits in one of the most complex and delicate areas of the brain surrounded by vital structures that control vision, movement, balance, memory, and hormone regulation.
Operating here means working around:
Deep cerebral veins (critical blood flow)
Aqueduct of Sylvius, which drains cerebrospinal fluid
Midbrain, which controls eye movement and body coordination
For that reason, many neurosurgeons consider these lesions “untouchable” unless clearly life-threatening or causing fluid blockage.
But a small number of specialists worldwide, with advanced microsurgical or endoscopic experience, have shown that carefully selected patients can have excellent outcomes.
These surgeons aim to:
1. Relieve mechanical pressure on brain tissue
2. Restore neurological and hormonal function
Success rates can be remarkable but access is extremely limited.
🌟 Rare Pathology & Symptoms
Pineal gland tumours and cysts are extremely rare, which is one reason they’re often misunderstood. Most doctors may see only a few cases in their career, so experience is limited, and subtle or unusual symptoms including verbal and cognitive difficulties, mood fluctuations, and attention issues can easily be overlooked or misattributed.
🌀 Spiritual & Mystical Connections
Beyond the medical side, the pineal gland has a long history in spiritual and mystical traditions:
Often called the “third eye”, associated with intuition, insight, and consciousness
Linked to light perception in animals, which may influence mood, perception, and circadian rhythm in humans
Influences sleep and dreams through melatonin, which can affect creativity, emotional processing, and awareness
Historically described as the “seat of the soul” by philosophers like René Descartes
Seen as a bridge between physical brain function and consciousness, giving rise to centuries of fascination
Including both medical and spiritual perspectives helps people understand why this tiny gland is so fascinating, complex, and often misinterpreted.
💜 Amelia’s Reality
Amelia is a bright, determined, and lively kid !
but living with a pineal gland tumour affects her every day. Some days she’s almost like any other child, other days her mood, focus, coordination, and energy fluctuate dramatically.
She experiences things most people wouldn’t notice: moments of blanking out, sudden bursts of energy, trouble with words, dizziness, blurred vision, cognitive issues and disrupted sleep. These challenges are only some basic outlines and are neurologically driven, a direct impact of her condition.
We will fight to find someone who can safely perform surgery if it’s the right option for her whether that means going overseas ? or finding specialists here who understand this complex, rare territory. Amelia deserves answers, a clear plan, and a chance to thrive and we won’t stop pushing until she gets them.
