Everyone with an itch —- or a dog —- knows how blissful it is to scratch, and how hard it can be to stop. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center think they know why. In a first-ever study, the scientists used imaging technology to look at what happens in the brain when we scratch. They found that scratching actually suppresses brain activity associated with bad feelings and memories. It also stimulates parts of the brain associated with compulsive behavior —- which could explain why some of us keep at it even when we know we shouldn’t. Dr. Gil Yosipovitch, a dermatologist and itch specialist who led the Wake Forest team, said the new findings, which were published online recently in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, may point the way to new treatments for the itchiest among us —- people with hives, poison ivy and chronic conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Severe itch is also a misery for cancer and kidney patients, who develop itches as a side effect of treatment…

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