New Insight into the Origins of Itch and Pain: How are Itch and Pain Signals Coded and Discriminated by Primary Sensory Neurons?

• 作者: Yue Hu Wen-Qi Shan Bin Wu Tong Liu
• 来源期刊: 神经科学通报（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（4）
• 所属期刊栏目: Research Highlights
• 页码范围: 575-578
• 页数: 4页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

The unpleasant sensations itch and pain induce distinct behavioral patterns.Although both acute itch and pain serve protective functions, they are different sensory modalities.Itch stimuli lead to the scratching reflex or the desire to scratch, which may be helpful for removing potential irritants.In contrast, pain stimuli lead to withdrawal behaviors but not scratching [1].Chronic itch and pain are significant clinical symptoms of many systemic diseases, and markedly reduce the quality of life of affected patients.Clinically, effective treatments for chronic itch and pain are still limited.The incomplete understanding of how itch and pain are processed by the somatosensory system is a major hurdle to developing new effective analgesics and itch relievers.