Itchyyy!!!!!

Why do we itch? Like pain and heat, itching sensations are transmitted by a class of nerve cells known as TRPV1-expressing neurons. If you engineer a mouse without these neurons, the mouse feels no pain, no heat and no itching. Research published last month suggests that there are a specific subset of TRPV1-expressing neurons that are exclusively responsible for itching. They produce a molecule called neuropeptide natriuretic polypeptide b (Nppb). All sensations require a neurotransmitter to "leap the gap" to adjacent nerve cells, and Nppb seems to perform that function for all itching sensations