According to an article posted today, October 30, 2014, new research from a study at the Washington University School of Medicine gives evidence to support what moms say about scratching. The vicious cycle to scratching and itching has been a mystery for many decades, but for some reason they didn’t know how to explain the increase in itchiness after scratching. According to this study, when scratching occurs pain signals produce a neurotransmitter called serotonin (C10H12N2O) which is made by the brain to temporarily disturb pain. To study the effects of serotonin on itching, they experimented with mice. Genetically modifying mice to have no serotonin production they observed that mice without serotonin were less prone to itching when compared to regular mice (serotonin producing). This supported the claim that serotonin plays a role with the increased itching sensation; they continued their research, examining more specifically which neurons were affected by serotonin release. Again using mice they found that when they deactivated the 5HT1A receptor through the GRPR (gastrin-releasing peptide receptor) neuron the mice itched much less, this gave them strong evidence for their case. They concluded that when scratching occurs the serotonin that is released doesn’t just temporarily disrupt the pain signal, but it also makes the 5HT1A receptor (receptor involved in itch sensation) more active causing more itching.
This article was intriguing to me because it brought evidence to support something that I had always wondered about. It always seemed to me that scratching intensified my itching, but I had no idea why! This article is both interesting and quick to read; I would suggest it to anyone interested in chemistry or biology.
Submitted by Jay Cleveland
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