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Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
Circuit Mechanisms of Itch in the Brain
1Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Itch is an unpleasant somatic sensation with the desire to scratch, and it consists of sensory, affective, and motivational components. Acute itch serves as a critical protective mechanism because an itch-evoked scratching response will help to remove harmful substances invading the skin. Recently, exciting progress has been made in deciphering the mechanisms of itch at both the peripheral nervous system and the CNS levels. Key neuronal subtypes and circuits have been revealed for ascending transmission and the descending modulation of itch. In this review, we mainly summarize the current understanding of the central circuit mechanisms of itch in the brain.
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