The itch is contagious because they are deeply “hard-wired” in the brain

The itching is socially contagious, such as yawning, with the consequence that if somebody scraped, someone who sees him…
to feel that itch. This happens in people and in animals such as apes, monkeys, and rodents, according to a new american scientific research, not because it is a simple psychological reaction, but because the itch is deep “hard-wired” in the brain.
The researchers of the Medical School of the University of Washington in St. Louis, led by Zhou-Feng Chen, director of the Centre for the Study of Itch (there is such a thing!), who made the relevant publication in the journal “Science”, conducted experiments with mice. Watching the animals ξύνονταν, scientists have shed light on the neural mechanism of itch.
The brain area involved in the adhesive itching, is the υπερχιασματικός core. The substance that carries the uncontrollable urge to itch, it is a neuropeptide (GRP), which secrete the cells in this region of the brain.
The researchers showed that it is possible, with the proper chemical substance, μπλοκαρισθεί the “transmissibility” of the itch. It remains however unclear whether, apart from rodents, the same thing happens in humans, something the researchers consider it highly likely.
“The itch is highly contagious. Sometimes it is enough to mention the word itching, to start someone next to him to scrape off. Many people think that all these are just in someone’s mind, but our experiments show that in fact it is a behaviour “hard-wired” in the brain, and not a form of empathy,” said Chen.
“The next time you ξυστείτε or χασμουρηθείτε, in response to someone else who does, remember that this is not a choice or a psychological reaction, but for something deeply “wired” in your brain, on a subconscious, innate and uncontrollable behavior, and an instinct,” he added.
On the other hand, however, there are investigations that refer to psychological and not biological mechanisms. An earlier study had concluded that the itching is more contagious in highly neurotic people. While with regard to contagious yawning, in another study, it was found that it is most likely to occur between friends and relatives, than among foreign people, so it seems to be involved in the ability of empathy.
Source