The physiological role of the pineal gland as the masterswitch of life, turning on at birth breathing and geared to it the function of the autonomic nervous system. The cause of SIDS examined in this context.

The proposition is that the masterswitch of life and death is invested in the physiological role of the pineal gland which by its neurohormonal influence and its neuronal connections in the brain gears hypothalamic noradrenaline levels to which the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and breathing are integrated. Sudden death in an apparently healthy infant can be compared to a well known event, to what happens to a plant if you close the masterswitch which distributes energy. The plant stops to function. It is not yet realized that the human plant also functions only as long as the masterswitch of its biological organization in the brain in charge of energy substrate availability--BOESA--to which breathing, the need of O2, is also geared, is functioning.