Feeling lousy? Blame your itchy neurons

Local scientists have discovered some of the secrets behind itching and scratching that may offer new approaches for treatment.

Our brains are programmed to scratch in an attempt to remove any irritant, but relief can soon turn to anguish if we scratch too much, leading to serious skin and tissue damage.

So why does scratching sometimes become uncontrollable?

“Itchy neurons,” officially called tachykinin 1 (Tac1)-expressing neurons, in the deep brain are to blame, according to the study published in the Neuron journal on Friday.

Sun Yangang and his colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Neuroscience tracked scratching behavior in mice and discovered “itchy neurons.”

The study showed that these neurons “fuel” the feeling of itching and “tell” us to continue to scratch. Once activity of these neurons is reduced, scratching dramatically decreases, and vice versa.

Sun thinks bad moods, such as frustration and anxiety, may “manipulate” the activity of these neurons and affect our sensitivity to itching.

“Currently, we know little about how itching is processed and lack any effective treatment for chronic itching,” said Sun. “We hope to design new approaches for the treatment of sufferers.”