Episode 13: The Neuroscience of Itch
03/17/22 • 12 min
Itch is... uncomfortable. We've all been there before, one motivated mosquito takes a bite out of you, and you are left with an itchy red spot for a few days that only scratching can temporarily relieve. Have you ever wondered how that sensation is transferred to the brain and processed? How about why pain, like pressing really hard on that mosquito bite makes the itching go away. If the answer to any of these questions is YES, come and take a listen to learn a little bit more about what's happening upstairs!
Please rate, review, and subscribe and if you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or complaints, please email me at [email protected] or DM me at NeuroscienceAmateurHour on Instagram.
Citations below:
Henley C. Touch: The Skin. openbookslibmsuedu . Published online January 1, 2021. https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/neuroscience/chapter/touch-the-skin/#:~:text=with%20the%20skin.-
Feher J. 4.3 - Cutaneous Sensory Systems. ScienceDirect. Published January 1, 2012. Accessed March 13, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128008836000355
Ringkamp M, Meyer R. Pruriceptors. PubMed. Published 2014. Accessed March 13, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200917/
Schmelz M. Itch Processing in the Skin. Frontiers in Medicine . 2019;6. doi:10.3389/fmed.2019.00167
Ikoma A, Cevikbas F, Kempkes C, Steinhoff M. Anatomy and Neurophysiology of Pruritus. Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery . 2011;30(2):64-70. doi:10.1016/j.sder.2011.04.001
Potenzieri C, Undem BJ. Basic mechanisms of itch. Clinical & Experimental Allergy . 2011;42(1):8-19. doi:10.1111/1.
Shim W-S, Oh U. Histamine-Induced Itch and its Relationship with Pain. Molecular Pain . 2008;4:1744-80694-29. doi:10.1186/1744-8069-4-29j.1365-2222.2011.03791.x
Forster C, Handwerker HO. Central Nervous Processing of Itch and Pain. PubMed. Published 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200926/
Papoiu ADP, Coghill RC, Kraft RA, Wang H, Yosipovitch G. A Tale of Two Itches. Common Features and Notable Differences in Brain Activation Evoked by Cowhage And Histamine Induced Itch. Neuroimage . 2012;59(4):3611-3623. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.099
Ishiuji Y. Addiction and the itch‐scratch cycle. What do they have in common? Experimental Dermatology . 2019;28(12):1448-1454. doi:10.1111/exd.14029
Itch is... uncomfortable. We've all been there before, one motivated mosquito takes a bite out of you, and you are left with an itchy red spot for a few days that only scratching can temporarily relieve. Have you ever wondered how that sensation is transferred to the brain and processed? How about why pain, like pressing really hard on that mosquito bite makes the itching go away. If the answer to any of these questions is YES, come and take a listen to learn a little bit more about what's happening upstairs!
Please rate, review, and subscribe and if you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or complaints, please email me at [email protected] or DM me at NeuroscienceAmateurHour on Instagram.
Citations below:
Henley C. Touch: The Skin. openbookslibmsuedu . Published online January 1, 2021. https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/neuroscience/chapter/touch-the-skin/#:~:text=with%20the%20skin.-
Feher J. 4.3 - Cutaneous Sensory Systems. ScienceDirect. Published January 1, 2012. Accessed March 13, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128008836000355
Ringkamp M, Meyer R. Pruriceptors. PubMed. Published 2014. Accessed March 13, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200917/
Schmelz M. Itch Processing in the Skin. Frontiers in Medicine . 2019;6. doi:10.3389/fmed.2019.00167
Ikoma A, Cevikbas F, Kempkes C, Steinhoff M. Anatomy and Neurophysiology of Pruritus. Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery . 2011;30(2):64-70. doi:10.1016/j.sder.2011.04.001
Potenzieri C, Undem BJ. Basic mechanisms of itch. Clinical & Experimental Allergy . 2011;42(1):8-19. doi:10.1111/1.
Shim W-S, Oh U. Histamine-Induced Itch and its Relationship with Pain. Molecular Pain . 2008;4:1744-80694-29. doi:10.1186/1744-8069-4-29j.1365-2222.2011.03791.x
Forster C, Handwerker HO. Central Nervous Processing of Itch and Pain. PubMed. Published 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200926/
Papoiu ADP, Coghill RC, Kraft RA, Wang H, Yosipovitch G. A Tale of Two Itches. Common Features and Notable Differences in Brain Activation Evoked by Cowhage And Histamine Induced Itch. Neuroimage . 2012;59(4):3611-3623. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.099
Ishiuji Y. Addiction and the itch‐scratch cycle. What do they have in common? Experimental Dermatology . 2019;28(12):1448-1454. doi:10.1111/exd.14029
Previous Episode
Episode 12: The Neuroscience of the Salem Witch Trials
When two young girls in 1692 started barking like dogs, fevering and convulsing into impossible positions, the deeply Puritan community of Salem, Massachusettes was quick to cry witchcraft. But they could never have envisioned that religious fervor, family feuds, and potentially a hallucinogenic fungus could have resulted in over 200 people being accused of witchcraft and 20 being executed for the deed.
Come and listen to learn a little bit more about the neuroscience of the Salem Witch Trials!
Please rate, review, and subscribe and if you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or complaints, please email me at [email protected] or DM me at NeuroscienceAmateurHour on Instagram.
Citations below:
Nast C. Inside the Salem Witch Trials. The New Yorker. Published August 31, 2015. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/the-witches-of-salem#:~:text=Nearly%20to%20a%20person%2C%20they
Larry Dale Gragg. A Quest for Security : The Life of Samuel Parris, 1653-1720 . Conn. ; London; 1990.
Betty Parris: First Afflicted Girl of the Salem Witch Trials. Published June 10, 2013. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/betty-parris-first-afflicted-girl-of-the-salem-witch-trials/#:~:text=Shortly%20after%20the%20incident%2C%20Betty
Salem Witch Trials - Further Readings. Jrank.org. Published 2019. https://law.jrank.org/pages/9985/Salem-Witch-Trials.html
Protein structure reveals how LSD affects the brain. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Published February 13, 2017. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/protein-structure-reveals-how-lsd-affects-brain
Cormier Z. Brain scans reveal how LSD affects consciousness. Nature . Published online April 11, 2016. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19727
Eadie MJ. Convulsive ergotism: epidemics of the serotonin syndrome? The Lancet Neurology . 2003;2(7):429-434. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(03)00439-3
A Common Misconception: The Ergot Theory and the Salem Witch Trials. Salem 1692. Published January 4, 2015. https://salemwitchtrialsresearch.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/a-common-misconception-the-ergot-theory-and-the-salem-witch-trials/
Next Episode
Episode 14: The Neuroscience of Migraines
Migraines are PAINFUL! And neuroscience speaking - super cool and complicated. It involves your blood vessels constricting and dilating and your brain going haywire and spreading a wave of neuron depression across your entire cortex.
Sound interesting? Come and take a listen to learn a little bit more about what happens in your brain!
Please rate, review, and subscribe and if you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or complaints, please email me at [email protected] or DM me at NeuroscienceAmateurHour on Instagram.
Citations below:
Headache disorders. www.who.int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/headache-disorders#:~:text=Half%20to%20three%20quarters%20of
Migraine Headaches: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention. Cleveland Clinic. Published March 3, 2021. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/5005-migraine-headaches
Ruthirago D, Julayanont P, Kim J. Translational Correlation. Conn’s Translational Neuroscience . Published online 2017:159-165. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-802381-5.00013-0
Mason BN, Russo AF. Vascular Contributions to Migraine: Time to Revisit? Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience . 2018;12. doi:10.3389/fncel.2018.00233
Wikipedia Contributors. Aristides Leão. Wikipedia. Published January 9, 2022. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_Le%C3%A3o
Lauritzen M. Pathophysiology of the migraine aura. Brain . 1994;117(1):199-210. doi:10.1093/brain/117.1.199
Schain AJ, Melo-Carrillo A, Stratton J, Strassman AM, Burstein R. CSD-Induced Arterial Dilatation and Plasma Protein Extravasation Are Unaffected by Fremanezumab: Implications for CGRP’s Role in Migraine with Aura. The Journal of Neuroscience . 2019;39(30):6001-6011. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0232-19.2019
Charles A, Brennan K. Cortical Spreading Depression—New Insights and Persistent Questions. Cephalalgia . 2009;29(10):1115-1124. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2982.2009.01983.x
Pietrobon D, Striessnig J. Neurobiology of migraine. Nature Reviews Neuroscience . 2003;4(5):386-398. doi:10.1038/nrn1102
Eisenstein M. Closing the gender gap in migraine research. Nature . 2020;586(7829):S16-S17. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-02867-4
Sutherland HG, Albury CL, Griffiths LR. Advances in genetics of migraine. The Journal of Headache and Pain . 2019;20(1). doi:10.1186/s10194-019-1017-9
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