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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Monitoring Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain by fMRI

Published on: April 8, 2010

Evoked itch perception is associated with changes in functional brain connectivity.

Gaëlle Desbordes¹, Ang Li¹, Marco L Loggia¹

¹Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Neuroimage. Clinical

|January 23, 2015

Summary

Chronic itch alters brain connectivity, impacting sensory and executive networks. This study reveals how functional brain connections change during itch, offering new insights into itch regulation.

Keywords:

AD, atopic dermatitis ASL, arterial spin labeling Atopic dermatitis BA, Brodmann area BOLD, blood-oxygen-level dependent DMN, default mode network ECG, electrocardiography Eczema GLM, general linear model ITCH, evoked itch resting-state scan Insula L, left MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute MR, magnetic resonance PCC, posterior cingulate cortex PET, positron emission tomography PMC, premotor cortex Pruritus Putamen R, right REST, baseline resting-state scan S1/M1, primary sensorimotor cortex SCORAD, SCORing atopic dermatitis scale SPL, Superior parietal lobule VAS, visual analog scale aMCC, anterior mid-cingulate cortex dlPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging fcMRI, functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging pMCC, posterior mid-cingulate cortex vlPFC, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

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Area of Science:

Neuroimaging
Neuroscience
Dermatology

Background:

Chronic itch is debilitating, with limited neuroimaging research.
Existing studies link itch to sensorimotor, salience, and corticostriatal networks.
Brain region interactions during itch remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate resting-state functional connectivity changes in atopic dermatitis patients during allergen-induced itch.
Determine how brain network interactions are modulated by itch perception.

Main Methods:

Acquired BOLD fMRI scans in 14 atopic dermatitis patients.
Analyzed resting-state functional connectivity before and after allergen-induced itch.
Used seed-based analysis to examine connectivity in itch-related brain regions.

Main Results:

Decreased functional connectivity between insular cortex, cingulate cortex, and basal ganglia during evoked itch, correlated with itch intensity.
Increased connectivity within the frontoparietal control network (superior parietal lobule, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) during itch.
Higher frontoparietal network connectivity increase correlated with lesser itch perception, suggesting top-down regulation.

Conclusions:

First evidence of itch-dependent functional connectivity changes across multiple brain regions.
Demonstrates altered interactions in sensory, salience, and executive attention networks during chronic itch.
Suggests top-down regulation by the frontoparietal network may mitigate itch sensation.