Editing Itch (section)

=== Contagious itch ===
Events of "[[Contagious disease|contagious]] itch" are very common occurrences. Even a discussion on the topic of itch can give one the desire to scratch. Itch is likely to be more than a localized phenomenon in the place one scratches. Results from a study showed that itching and scratching were induced purely by visual [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]] in a public lecture on itching.<ref>[citation needed]</ref> The sensation of pain can also be induced in a similar fashion, often by listening to a description of an injury, or viewing an injury itself.

There is little detailed data on central activation for contagious itching, but it is hypothesized that a human [[mirror neuron]] system exists in which one imitates certain motor actions when they view others performing the same action. A similar hypothesis has been used to explain the cause of contagious [[yawning]].<ref name=ikoma/>