Gate control of mechanical itch by a subpopulation of spinal cord interneurons

A circuit controlling mechanical itch Considerable progress has been made in understanding and treating chemically induced itch. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying mechanically evoked itch. Bourane et al. produced a model of mechanical itch by reducing the number of neuropeptide Y–expressing inhibitory spinal interneurons. This led to a selective increase in mechanically evoked itch-like behavior in mice. In contrast, chemically evoked itch or pain behavior remained unaffected. Science , this issue p. 550