Relief of itch by scratching: state-dependent inhibition of primate spinothalamic tract neurons
S Davidson, X Zhang, SG Khasabov, DA Simone… - Nature …, 2009 - nature.com
Nature neuroscience, 2009•nature.com
Itch is relieved by scratching, but the neural mechanisms that are responsible for this are
unknown. Spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons respond to itch-producing agents and transmit
pruritic information to the brain. We observed that scratching the cutaneous receptive field of
primate STT neurons produced inhibition during histamine-evoked activity but not during
spontaneous activity or activity evoked by a painful stimulus, suggesting that scratching
inhibits the transmission of itch in the spinal cord in a state-dependent manner.
unknown. Spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons respond to itch-producing agents and transmit
pruritic information to the brain. We observed that scratching the cutaneous receptive field of
primate STT neurons produced inhibition during histamine-evoked activity but not during
spontaneous activity or activity evoked by a painful stimulus, suggesting that scratching
inhibits the transmission of itch in the spinal cord in a state-dependent manner.
Abstract
Itch is relieved by scratching, but the neural mechanisms that are responsible for this are unknown. Spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons respond to itch-producing agents and transmit pruritic information to the brain. We observed that scratching the cutaneous receptive field of primate STT neurons produced inhibition during histamine-evoked activity but not during spontaneous activity or activity evoked by a painful stimulus, suggesting that scratching inhibits the transmission of itch in the spinal cord in a state-dependent manner.
nature.com