Like the phenomenon of yawning,
scientists are fascinated by itching. Itch, like the sensation of burning and
pain, are mediated by C fibres of the nervous system - thin, unmyelinated axons
found in the peripheral nervous system as well as in the tract that goes up
from spinal chord to Thalamus.
It is well known that when a mosquito
bites you, histamine is released locally and that it is this histamine that
makes you scratch. But in a recent review on the topic in Nature Neuroscience
Reviews, you will find a lot more interesting information - including the fact
that all itches are not induced by local histamine release.
Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 15, 19–31 (2014) doi:10.1038/nrn3641 Published
online 20 December 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment