Nature Communications (Oct 2020)

A spinal neural circuitry for converting touch to itch sensation

  • Sihan Chen,
  • Xiao-Fei Gao,
  • Yuxi Zhou,
  • Ben-Long Liu,
  • Xian-Yu Liu,
  • Yufen Zhang,
  • Devin M. Barry,
  • Kun Liu,
  • Yingfu Jiao,
  • Rita Bardoni,
  • Weifeng Yu,
  • Zhou-Feng Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18895-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Light touch can sometimes induce unpleasant itch sensation but the neural correlates of this conversion are not well studied. Here, the authors provide evidence that Tac2 expressing spinal interneurons are connected to gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) neurons and form an integral part of the neural circuit underlying touch evoked itch.