Zentralnervöse verarbeitung von juckreiz

Itch is the major symptom of many allergic or inflammatory skin diseases; yet it is still difficult to measure objectively. This article describes recent progress in central nervous system investigations of the itch sensation. Short-term alternating temperature modulation of histamine-induced itch has recently been introduced, allowing human neuroimaging studies of high resolution. These studies with functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrate that itch sensation in healthy volunteers is processed by a network of brain regions contributing to the encoding of sensory, emotional, attentional, evaluative and motivational aspects of pruritus.