# How the brain tells you to scratch that itch

**URL:** <https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/how-the-brain-tells-you-to-scratch-that-itch/1351>\
**Category:** Research Database\
**Created:** [December 13, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/how-the-brain-tells-you-to-scratch-that-itch/1351 "2018-12-13T20:20:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![menshealtharchive](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/archive.menshealtharchive.com/menshealtharchive/32/587_2.png) [@menshealtharchive](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/u/menshealtharchive)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://archive.menshealtharchive.com/t/how-the-brain-tells-you-to-scratch-that-itch/1351/1 "2018-12-13T20:20:52Z")

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> **[How the brain tells you to scratch that itch](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181213142203.htm)**
>
> It's a maddening cycle that has affected us all: it starts with an itch that triggers scratching, but scratching only makes the itchiness worse. Now, researchers have revealed the brain mechanism driving this uncontrollable itch-scratching feedback...

  
It’s a maddening cycle that has affected us all: it starts with an itch that triggers scratching, but scratching only makes the itchiness worse. Now, researchers have revealed the brain mechanism driving this uncontrollable itch-scratching feedback loop. Researchers showed that the activity of a small subset of neurons, located in a deep brain region called the periaqueductal gray, tracks itch-evoked scratching behavior in mice.