from journal Neuron
Scratching an itch only makes it worse. If your mother told you that she was right. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis wrote in the journal Neuron that scratching an itch may bring momentary relief, but scratching is viewed by the body as pain and causes the brain to release pain-controlling serotonin, which actually makes the itch worse. Interfering with serotonin caused animals to itch less, but serotonin has important other uses in the body. The research involved laboratory animals, but the same vicious cycle of itching and scratching is thought to occur in humans. The same team of scientists is now working on blocking receptor cells that relay itch signals to the brain, but until then heed mom’s advice and try not to scratch an itch.