Why Scratching An Itch Feels Good

(WebMD)  Scratching isn't great for your skin, but new research shows why it feels good.

To our surprise, we found that areas of the brain associated with unpleasant or aversive emotions and memories became significantly less active during the scratching," Wake Forest University's Gil Yosipovitch, MD, says in a news release.

"Of course, scratching is not recommended because it can damage the skin. But understanding how the process works could lead to new treatments," adds Yosipovitch.

Yosipovitch and colleagues studied 13 healthy adults (average age: 28). Participants weren't itchy, but they got their lower right leg gently scratched by a researcher wielding a medical brush.

Participants got brain scans before, during, and after the scratching sessions. Those brain scans showed that certain brain areas were particularly active during scratching, while other brain regions became less active during scratching.

Those patterns may explain why scratching can feel good and be rewarding, the researchers note. But it will take more work to see if the brain behaves the same way in people dealing with itchiness (pruritus).

Their findings appear in today's advance online edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.




By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved

[imaok1]

You''re missing the point PineyGal. Scratching, regardless of whether there was an itch or not, seems to reduce anxiety and stress. This knowledge can be used to discover what neurological mechanisms cause this reaction to better understand how our our brain and body work together. This could lead to a multitude of discoveries. I am thankful people like you aren''t in research- you''d say the sky was blue and be done with it!

[pineygal]

Ok so we found scratching can make you feel good & further studies will be done to see if it will have the same effect on people who are actually itching. Common sense tells me, "I itch somewhere scratch it fool", the itching will stop. I didn''t need to go through a study for that......Yet people are still dying from Cancer & many other diseases but we should all jump for joy it is a documented study scratching will make the itch go away..........

[brianbwb-2009]

"...while imbeciles on a football field are paid millions..." Posted by babykilller

I hear this old saw many times, so I am moved to ask, since the sacrifice, work, sweat, blood, and lives of the athletes generates hundreds of millions of dollars when they perform their craft, who do you suggest should get the lion''s share of this money, someone else?

[grammawhamma]

MyIDonCBS: I hope you are being sarcastic. Here''s a tidbit of info for you...Did you know that dogs yawn when they are embarassed and cats lick their shoulder when embarassed?

[myidoncbs]

"OMG...and they got paid for this research?? ***!!"

*** it is is called SCIENCE. It''s how we learn about the universe we inhabit. You have no way of knowing how useful this tidbit of information may be.

[imaok1]

Well, it''s kinda interesting. I realized a few years ago that I tend to scratch my neck or arms when I''m nervous, and I thought that was an odd thing to do. This would make sense in that case.

[grammawhamma]

OMG...and they got paid for this research?? ***!!