Suppression of scratching-induced pleasurable sensation by compression nerve blocking and its association with itch relief

• Published in: Itch (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 2; no. 2; p. e7
• Main Authors: Mochizuki, Hideki, Shevchenko, Alina, Nattkemper, Leigh A., Valdes-Rodriguez, Rodrigo, Yosipovitch, Gil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The International Forum for the Study of Itch 01-09-2017; Wolters Kluwer Health on behalf of The International Forum for the Study of Itch
• Subjects: Brief Communication; itch; scratch; peripheral nerve fibers; pleasurability; nerve blocking; itch relief
• ISSN: 2380-5048; 2380-5048
• DOI: 10.1097/itx.0000000000000007

Itch can be suppressed by scratching. At the same time, scratching evokes a pleasurable sensation. In the present study, we investigated the peripheral mechanism of scratching-induced pleasurability and its association with itch relief using compression nerve block. We found that myelinated nerve fibers (Aβ-fibers and possibly Aδ-fibers), are involved in transmission of scratching-induced pleasurability. We observed that itch relief effect was the same regardless of whether the pleasurable sensation was evoked by scratching an itch, indicating that pleasure is not a necessary component to induce itch relief. This is the first study to investigate the peripheral mechanism of scratching-induced pleasurability and itch relief.