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Itch vs. pain

Published on September 30, 2026   21 min

A selection of talks on Physiology & Anatomy

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0:00
This is Ru-Rong Ji from Duke University, Center for Translational Pain Medicine. Today, I will be discussing the topic of itch versus pain.
0:13
My talk has three major objectives: Understanding pain and itch mechanisms, exploring mediators, receptors, and circuits of pain and itch, finally, dissecting clinical relevance and treatments for chronic pain and itch. What is pain?
0:34
According to the definition of International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. It serves as a protective mechanism alerting the body to injury or danger and eliciting behavioral responses to minimize harm, such as the withdrawal reflex. What is itch? Like pain, itch, or pruritus, is an unpleasant sensory experience that triggers the urge to scratch. It is distinct from pain, but shares overlapping neural pathways. Itch serves a function by alerting organisms to irritants, allergens, or parasites, eliciting protective behaviors, such as scratching or grooming. In some cases, scratching also causes pleasure by activating the reward system in the brain.
1:39
The evolutionary roles of pain and itch. Pain and itch have evolved as adaptive survival mechanisms. Pain serves for avoidance, protection, and prevention, as well as healing promotion, adaptive learning such as no pain, no gain. Itch serves for irritant protection, parasite defense, and wound healing.

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