| First Author | Mu D | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Science | Volume | 357 |
| Issue | 6352 | Pages | 695-699 |
| PubMed ID | 28818946 | Mgi Jnum | J:244217 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5912996 | Doi | 10.1126/science.aaf4918 |
| Citation | Mu D, et al. (2017) A central neural circuit for itch sensation. Science 357(6352):695-699 |
| abstractText | Although itch sensation is an important protective mechanism for animals, chronic itch remains a challenging clinical problem. Itch processing has been studied extensively at the spinal level. However, how itch information is transmitted to the brain and what central circuits underlie the itch-induced scratching behavior remain largely unknown. We found that the spinoparabrachial pathway was activated during itch processing and that optogenetic suppression of this pathway impaired itch-induced scratching behaviors. Itch-mediating spinal neurons, which express the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, are disynaptically connected to the parabrachial nucleus via glutamatergic spinal projection neurons. Blockade of synaptic output of glutamatergic neurons in the parabrachial nucleus suppressed pruritogen-induced scratching behavior. Thus, our studies reveal a central neural circuit that is critical for itch signal processing. |
