Research
The posterior paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus to nucleus accumbens medial shell circuit mediates an anti-pruritic response
Nature · By Jie-Yan Zheng ·
The Brief
- Neural mechanisms underlying itch are not fully understood, according to the authors.
- The study reports a circuit from the posterior paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus to the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens (pPVT-NAcMed).
- The authors show that this circuit mediates an anti-pruritic (anti-itch) response.
Why it matters
The work identifies a specific thalamus-to-accumbens pathway involved in suppressing itch, which adds to the understanding of how the brain controls itch. The findings come from mouse studies, so their relevance to human itch remains to be tested.
Who’s affected
- neuroscientists studying itch and pain
- researchers working on pruritus and related skin disorders
- #itch
- #neuroscience
- #thalamus
- #nucleus accumbens
- #pruritus
Nature Communications, Published online: 13 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-78362-7 Neural mechanisms underlying itch are not fully understood. Here authors show that the pPVT-NAcMed (posterior paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus to nucleus accumbens medial shell)…
Timeline
Published online in Nature Communications
nature.com
The posterior paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus to nucleus accumbens medial shell circuit mediates an anti-pruritic response