Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025
Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
Published on: September 27, 2019
Visual Triggers of Skin Picking Episodes: An Experimental Study in Self-Reported Skin Picking Disorder and Atopic
Linda Marlen Mehrmann1, Alice Urban1, Alexander Leopold Gerlach1
1Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Background:
Skin Picking Disorder (SPD) is a new diagnosis with limited information available about triggers of picking episodes. Itch can be induced via audio-visual stimuli and the effect of contagious itch is stronger for those affected by atopic dermatitis. We examined if picking-related visual stimuli can trigger the urge to pick skin in self-reported SPD. We compared itch and the urge to pick in a sample of AD and/or SPD-affected to controls without either.
Method:
Urge to pick skin and/or scratch when viewing 24 itch-related, picking-related or neutral online pictures was assessed in adult females, who self-report skin-picking (SPD-only, n = 147) and/or atopic dermatitis (AD-only, n = 47; AD+SPD, n = 46) as well as in skin healthy controls (HC, n = 361).
Results:
All participants reported a stronger urge to pick for picking-related pictures compared to neutral content (F[1, 597] = 533.96, p < .001, ηp2 = .472) and more itch for itch-related pictures compared to neutral stimuli (F[1, 597] = 518.73, p < .001, ηp2 = .465). SPD-all (SPD-only & AD+SPD) reported stronger urges to pick for picking-related vs. other stimuli compared to the AD-only and HC group (p < .001, ηp2 = .047). Likewise, AD-all (AD-only & AD+SPD) reported significantly stronger itching for itch-related vs. other stimuli compared to SPD-only and HC (p = .001, ηp2 = .019).
Conclusions:
Analog to visual provocation of itch, the urge to pick can be triggered by visual stimuli. Treatments for SPD and AD may profit from addressing visual stimuli.
