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多类型痒觉诱发范式及其与痛觉敏感性关联研究

丁晓冉¹, 韩修一^2,3, 孙宏伟¹, 孔亚卓^2,3,*

¹山东第二医科大学心理学院，潍坊 261053；²认知科学与心理健康全国重点实验室，中国科学院心理研究所，北京 100101；³中国科学院大学心理学系，北京 100049

摘要

痒觉是一种复杂的多维感觉，其机制尚不清楚，诱发痒觉的范式尚未形成统一标准。本研究旨在标准化实验室诱发痒觉的实验流程，探究不同类型痒觉在敏感性之间的关联及其与痛觉和其他躯体感觉敏感性的关系。研究共招募了124 名健康被试，采用三种诱发范式：羽毛扫拂(机械性痒)、皮肤点刺1%组胺二盐酸溶液(化学性痒)以及施加高频率低强度电刺激(电诱发痒)，并结合定量躯体感觉测试评估痒觉强度与痛觉及其他躯体感觉的相关性。三种范式均能有效诱发痒觉，在主观报告的痒觉强度上无显著差异。除电刺激与组胺诱发的痒觉外，其他诱发范式下的痒觉强度之间均存在显著相关性。羽毛诱发的痒觉强度与机械痛觉阈值呈负相关，组胺诱发的痒觉强度与热痛阈值、热痛耐受阈值呈负相关。本研究首次系统地总结了实验室环境下多类型痒觉诱发的方法，为后续研究提供了可重复的操作规范。建立的范式可作为客观评估个体痒觉敏感性的核心工具，加深对痒觉的理解，在临床应用中可作为评估慢性瘙痒疾病进展和治疗效果的客观指标。

关键词： 痒觉诱发范式; 神经机制; 痒觉敏感性; 痛觉敏感性

Various models of itch induction and their relationship to pain sensitivit

DING Xiao-Ran¹, HAN Xiu-Yi^2,3, SUN Hong-Wei¹, KONG Ya-Zhuo^2,3,*

¹School of Psychology, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang 261053, China；²State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China；³Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Abstract

Pruritus, a complex multidimensional sensation accompanying diverse dermatological and systemic disorders, affects a substantial global population. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying chronic pruritus remain incompletely understood. Standardized experimental paradigms for inducing pruritus are essential for establishing a foundational understanding of chronic pruritus. This study aimed to develop a standardized laboratory protocol for pruritus induction, investigate the relationships between sensitivities to different pruritus modalities, and explore the associations of pruritus sensitivities with pain sensitivity and other somatosensory sensitivities, thereby exploring the potential neural mechanisms. This work recruited 124 healthy participants and employed three validated pruritus induction paradigms: mechanical stimulation via calibrated feather brushing, chemical stimulation via epicutaneous application of 1% histamine dihydrochloride solution, and electrically evoked pruritus using high-frequency, low-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Concurrent Quantitative Somatosensory Testing assessed subjective itch intensity and its correlation with other somatosensory profiles. All three paradigms effectively evoked significant pruritic sensations. Critically, no statistically significant differences were observed in subjective intensity ratings across the induction methods. Correlational analysis revealed significant positive associations between intensities evoked by feather brushing and histamine application, and between feather brushing and electrical stimulation. However, no significant correlation was found between histamine-evoked and electrically evoked itch intensities. This dissociation suggests both shared and distinct neural substrates mediate processing of different pruritus modalities. Furthermore, the study identified complex interactions between pruritus and other somatosensory modalities. Feather-evoked mechanical itch intensity demonstrated a significant negative correlation with mechanical pain thresholds. Similarly, histamine-evoked chemical itch intensity showed a significant negative correlation with heat pain threshold as well as heat pain tolerance thresholds. This work establishes a rigorous methodological foundation for future mechanistic research into pruritus and facilitates the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. The established paradigm in this study can serve as a core tool for objectively assessing an individual's itch sensitivity, deepen the understanding of itch perception, and act as an objective indicator for evaluating the progression of chronic itch disorders and the efficacy of their treatment in clinical practice.

Key words: itch-inducing paradigm; neural mechanism; itch sensitivity; pain sensitivity

收稿日期：　　录用日期：

通讯作者：孔亚卓　　E-mail:

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2026.0006

引用本文：

丁晓冉, 韩修一, 孙宏伟, 孔亚卓. 多类型痒觉诱发范式及其与痛觉敏感性关联研究[J]. 生理学报 2026; 78 (1): 221-232.

DING Xiao-Ran, HAN Xiu-Yi, SUN Hong-Wei, KONG Ya-Zhuo. Various models of itch induction and their relationship to pain sensitivit. Acta Physiol Sin 2026; 78 (1): 221-232 (in Chinese with English abstract).