Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 21, 2026

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder and Melatonin Secretion Impairment in a Patient With Pineal Cyst
Lorenzo Ferri1, Marco Filardi1, Monica Moresco1
1DIBINEM - Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Abstract:
We report the case of a 14-year-old girl with a wide non-compressive pineal cyst, associated with the inability to control her sleep-wake schedule. Actigraphic monitoring showed a 24-hour free-running disorder (tau 26.96 hours). A 24-hour serum melatonin curve assay, with concomitant video-polysomnographic and body-core temperature monitoring, was performed. Melatonin curve showed a blunted nocturnal peak, lower total quantity of melatonin, and prolonged melatonin secretion in the morning, with normal temperature profile and sleep parameters. Treatment with melatonin up to 14 mg at bedtime was initiated with complete realignment of the sleep-wake rhythm (tau 23.93 hours). The role of the pineal cyst in the aforementioned alteration of melatonin secretion and free-running disorder remains controversial, but our case supports the utility of monitoring sleep/wake, temperature, and melatonin rhythms in the diagnostic work-up of pineal cysts associated with free-running disorder.
Related Concept Videos
The Pineal Gland
The primary secretion of the pineal gland is the hormone melatonin, derived from serotonin. The concentration of melatonin in the...
Management of Insomnia
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and...
Sleep-Wake Cycles
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:
Narcolepsy
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
RBD is significantly associated with...

