ArticleMolecular brain2019
Contagious itch can be induced in humans but not in rodents.
Article in Molecular brain, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Central neural circuits underlying itch sensation.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Monkeys increase scratching when encountering unexpected good fortune.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Affective bodily responses in monkeys predict subsequent pessimism, but not vice versa.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Emotions spread like contagious diseases.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Social interactions and olfactory cues are required for contagious itch in mice.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Contagious Itch, Disgust and Empathy in a Family with Scabies and their Treating Medical Staff: An Exploratory Study.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2022Article
- Enhancement of behavioral nociceptive responses but not itching responses by viewing mirror images in adult mice.Molecular pain · 2022Article
- The mouse model of fragile X syndrome exhibits deficits in contagious itch behavior.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Central circuit mechanisms of itch.Nature communications · 2020Review
- Optimizing audiovisual itch induction: the role of attention and expectancy.The British journal of dermatology · 2020Article
- Cortical mechanism of emotional pain.Molecular painReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Itch contagion has been reported in human when people watch someone scratching in a video. The basic mechanism of contagious itch induced by scratching video is still being investigated. A recent study has reported that adult mice showed itch like responses after watching itch-like video or mice showing itching responses. However, such contagious itch behaviors failed to be reproduced by another study by repeating the same experiments of viewing itching mice. It is unclear if contagious itch induced by seeing itching video may be reproducible. In the present study, we used a four-iPad paradigm to repeat these experiments, and found that mice showed no significant itch-like responses after watching itching video of mice. To test if mice actually can see the video, we placed mirrors at the same location. Interestingly, mice showed altered activities in the open field with the mirrors. Finally, in healthy subjects, we found that viewing human itch video did cause itch sensation or responses. Our results indicate that the mouse model may not appropriate for studying contagious itch in humans.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.