11/21/2023 0 Comments Trex toy with fish![]() Studies done in the last decade have shown that itch can be inhibited by many other forms of painful stimuli, such as noxious heat, physical rubbing/scratching, noxious chemicals, and electric shock. A similar hypothesis has been used to explain the cause of contagious yawning. There is little detailed data on central activation for contagious itching, but it is hypothesized that a human mirror neuron system exists in which one imitates certain motor actions when they view others performing the same action. The sensation of pain can also be induced in a similar fashion, often by listening to a description of an injury, or viewing an injury itself. Results from a study showed that itching and scratching were induced purely by visual stimuli in a public lecture on itching. Itch is likely to be more than a localized phenomenon in the place one scratches. Even a discussion on the topic of itch can give one the desire to scratch. Contagious itch Įvents of " contagious itch" are very common occurrences. ![]() These aspects might therefore contribute to the compulsive nature of itch and scratching. It has been hypothesized that motivational aspects of scratching include the frontal brain areas of reward and decision making. This can be problematic with chronic itch patients, such as ones with atopic dermatitis, who may scratch affected spots until they no longer produce a pleasant or painful sensation, instead of when the itch sensation disappears. However, there are hedonic aspects to scratching, as one would find noxious scratching highly pleasurable. Scratching has traditionally been regarded as a way to relieve oneself by reducing the annoying itch sensation. For example, responding to a local itch sensation is an effective way to remove insects from one's skin. Itch generates stimulus of a foreign object underneath or upon the skin and also the urge to remove it. Itch in contrast creates a scratch reflex, which draws one to the affected skin site. Pain elicits a withdrawal reflex, which leads to retraction and therefore a reaction trying to protect an endangered part of the body. Pain and itch have very different behavioral response patterns. Chronic idiopathic pruritus or Chronic Pruritus of Unknown Origin is a form of itch that persists for longer than six weeks, and for which no clear cause can be identified. If the sensation of itching persists for six weeks or longer, then it is called chronic itch or chronic pruritus. If it is felt all over the body, then it is called generalized itch or generalized pruritus. Most commonly, an itch is felt in one place. Information for them is conveyed centrally in two distinct systems that both use the same nerve bundle and spinothalamic tract. Unmyelinated nerve fibers for itches and pain both originate in the skin. Pain creates a withdrawal reflex, whereas itches leads to a scratch reflex. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant sensory experiences, their behavioral response patterns are different. ![]() Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Compulsion to scratch an irritated area of skinĬertain infections, allergies, blood derangements and environmental factors
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