Contagious scratching: shared feelings but not shared body locations

Ward, Jamie; Burckhardt, Vera; Holle, Henning

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00122

Cited by 21 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that movies depicting scratching activated many of the regions associated with physically induced itch (via histamine administration) and not motor regions of the brain associated with contagious scratching (although people were prevented from scratching in the scanner, which may have inhibited this response [3] ). Therefore, we would agree with [7] that "contagious itchiness may be more driven by vicarious perception of the feeling state (itchiness/unpleasantness) than contagion of the motor act or bodily target." In other words, people do not observe itch, they observe the subsequent scratch and from this infer that the person who is scratching is itchy.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…This partially agrees with a previous study where participants rated videos depicting scratching of the upper arm significantly itchier than the forearm and chest [3] . Of the 21 (64%) participants who produced spontaneous scratches in response to these videos, the majority were directed to the face and hair [7] , but there were no differences between males and females. We also found that the vast majority of scratches (79%) were directed toward the participant's head regardless of the body part depicted in the image.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Ward et al [7] found that participants used both hands equally often to scratch themselves, which was independent of the hand seen in the image. However, the visual stimuli depicted scratching only to the arms and chest, while the vast majority of the participants' directed scratching toward their head.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Are sex and history of pruritic skin conditions factors which affect the phenomenon of visually evoked itch? An exploratory study

Lloyd¹,

Dodd²,

Higgins³

et al. 2017

Itch

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Introduction:We have previously shown that sensations of itch and the scratch response can be evoked using itch-related images. However, we did not determine whether individual differences in a person's experience of itch could moderate this effect. This exploratory study aimed to determine whether sex or a history of pruritic skin conditions (PSCs) could influence the effects of visually evoked itch and scratch. Methods: Forty-one participants (19 males; 16 with a history of PSCs) viewed static images that could either be itch or nonitch related. These were further separated by picture type: "skin contact" (ants crawling on the hand vs. a butterfly on the finger); "skin response" (scratching an insect bite vs. washing the hands); "skin condition" (psoriasis vs. freckles) or "context only" (insects vs. birds). Images were rated using a 10-point scale by answering: "How itchy do you feel?" (Self-rating) and "How itchy do you think the person in the picture feels?" (Other-rating). Frequency and location of scratching was also recorded. Results: The highest itch scores were to itch-related skin contact pictures. Females gave higher itch ratings than males, and people with a history of PSCs gave higher itch ratings when viewing images of people scratching. There was no correlation between itch ratings and scratch response, and no relationship between body site viewed and location of scratching. Discussion: There is a heightened response to itch-related cues in females and those with PSCs, indicating a more centrally mediated pathway bringing subconscious itch sensations into conscious awareness in these populations. These findings could influence personalized treatment interventions aimed at reducing awareness of itch sensations in susceptible individuals.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Are sex and history of pruritic skin conditions factors which affect the phenomenon of visually evoked itch? An exploratory study

Lloyd¹,

Dodd²,

Higgins³

et al. 2017

Itch

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“…For example, it has been shown that a lecture about itch along with presenting pictures of insects, scratch marks, and allergic reactions, increases itching and accompanying scratching behaviour in an audience, as compared to a neutral lecture (Niemeier and Gieler, 2000). However, several other studies on contagious itch demonstrated significant increases in itch and scratching in both patients and healthy subjects (Ogden and Zoukas, 2009;Holle et al, 2012;Lloyd et al, 2013;Ward et al, 2013;Schut et al, 2014), with some studies demonstrating more pronounced responses in patients with chronic itch than in healthy subjects (Papoiu et al, 2011;Schut et al, 2014). In one study, patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and healthy subjects watched a video either with people scratching or with neutral content, while a histamine or a placebo stimulus was administered.…”

Section: Effects and Mechanisms In Placebo And Nocebo Effects On Itchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placebo and nocebo effects on itch: effects, mechanisms, and predictors

Bartels

Laarhoven

Kerkhof

et al. 2015

European Journal of Pain

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Placebo and nocebo effects have been extensively studied in the field of pain and more recently also on itch. In accordance with placebo research on pain, expectancy learning via verbal suggestion or conditioning has shown to induce placebo and nocebo effects on itch, in which the combination of both procedures seems most promising. Moreover, itch can also be transferred 'contagiously' in which suggestion and social behavioural learning seem to play a role. With regard to predictors of placebo and nocebo responding on itch and contagious itch, preliminary evidence suggests a role for individual psychological characteristics and personality traits regarding negative outcome expectancies. Although findings on placebo and nocebo effects on itch seem comparable to pain, we have only just begun to understand the underlying mechanisms and predictors of placebo and nocebo effects on itch.

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“…Through to a physiological study exploring the experience of misophonia, describing a sensitivity to sound that can substantially limit ones ability to interact with others (Edelstein et al, 2013), and a commentary of why vicarious perception may drive contagious scratching (Ward et al, 2013);…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%