Science may have answer to the itch you shouldn't scratch

Scientists in Shanghai have discovered a critical neural pathway that transmits itching sensations from the spinal cord to the brain - a discovery that could provide new insights for the development of therapies for chronic itchiness. Itch signals originating from any part of the body are transmitted to the spinal cord. Researchers at the Institute of Neuroscience say the signals are then passed by certain types of spinal neurons to a part of the brainstem called the parabrachial nucleus, or PBN, which is related to emotions, sleep, feeding, taste and pain.

The institute, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a paper about the discovery on Friday in the United States-based journal Science.

Several brain areas are related to the reception of sensory signals transmitted from the spinal cord to the brain. The researchers found the activity of PBN neurons was elevated in itch processing.