An Analysis On Why We Itch?
“The problem is that when the brain gets those pain signals, it responds by producing the neurotransmitter serotonin to help control that pain,” senior investigator Zhou-Feng Chen, PhD, who’s also the director of Washington University’s Center for the Study of Itch, explained in a written statement. “But as serotonin spreads from the brain into the spinal cord, we found the chemical can ‘jump the tracks,’ moving from pain-sensing neurons to nerve cells that influence itch intensity.”
Scientists involved with the study bred a strain of genetically engineered mice that lacked serotonin. When injected with itch-causing chemicals, these mice didn’t scratch as much as mice with the ability to produce serotonin. But as soon as the genetically engineered mice were injected with serotonin, the scratching began.
This finding doesn’t exactly translate into a “cure” for itches. For one thing, living a serotonin-free life isn’t realistic for humans, since the chemical is crucial to ourhappiness, sleep and relaxation, as well as growth and bone metabolism.
For another, there’s still more research to be done on how humans experience itches.
“We want to know whether or not the same thing happens in humans,” Dr. Zhou-Feng Chen told The Huffington Post. “We know it happens in mice, but we don’t know if it happens in humans yet, although we suspect it’s very likely.”
