Rhetorical Analysis Essay
'' '' ''Washington University scientists in St. Louis, Missouri have discovered that serotonin lies at the intersection of pain and itch and that scratching makes one itch more (which many of us are already aware of). ''Information regarding this topic was retrieved from two different sources, an article in The Source magazine, under Medicine & Health, and a blog post in the Science News magazine, under Neuroscience, Health. ''Both sources equally covered the information in regards to the Washington University Study on why scratching an itch makes it worse and how serotonin and pain signals are involved; however, the blog post went into greater detail''on how the mechanisms work and was portrayed in a language that was easy to understand.
In The Source article, the article starts out with the statement 'Turns out your mom was right: ''Scratching an itch only makes it worse'''(Dryden, 2014, p. 1). ''This statement right off is interesting to the average reader as it speaks of one's mother's wisdom. ''In the second article in the Science News Magazine, the article starts out with the statement 'I itch. ''Evenings tend to be the worst. But then mornings are pretty bad too. ''I have atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema'''(Brookshire, 2014, p. ). ''This opening statement displays that this article is going to be told on a more personal level as the author is describing her issues with itching. ''One can assume she took an interest in the Washington University study due to her own problems with eczema.
The articles then move on to discuss the Washington University study. ''The original article states that the study showed that scratching causes the brain to release serotonin which can intensify the itch''(Dryden, 2014). ''Scratching also causes a mild amount of pain, so when the brain receives these pain signals, serotonin is released''(Dryden, 2014). ''The serotonin is thought to 'jump the tracks' from the brain to the spinal cord by moving from pain sensory neurons to nerve cells that control the intensity of the itch''(Dryden, 2014). ''In the second article, a common pathway is mentioned between pain and itching in the spinal cord, the spinothalamic tract''(Brookshire, 2014). ''Upon looking up the definition of this tract, it a sensory pathway from the skin to the thalamus. ''People who are insensitive to pain are also usually insensitive to itching. ''
Both sources explain how the study was performed by Washington University scientists and that mice were involved in the study. ''It was discovered that pain and itch 'are transmitted through different but related pathways'''(Dryden, 2014, p. 2). ''However, the second source states that there a important differences between the two sensations and that different responses are elicited when having pain or an itch. '''When we feel light touch, we itch. ''The response is the scratch, to get the bug or other irritant off of the skin. ''But pain, whether from a cut, a hot stove or any other danger, elicits a very different behavior. ''Then, the urge is to pull the injured body part away, and to keep it away'''(Brookshire, 2014, p. ). ''Pain medications can relieve pain, but they can also illicit an itch response.
It is interesting how many roles serotonin has. ''The main role that we are familiar with is mood control. ''There are many anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications that help in the release of serotonin for depressed or anxious patients. ''However, serotonin's role for the skin is much different. ''It can inhibit pain but also exacerbate an itch. ''
Reading the first source's explanation of''the gastrin-dependent peptide receptor (GRPR) neurons and 5HT1A receptors, one may get lost in the scientific''verbiage as it is not explained in a great amount of detail to help in understanding the processes. ''However, the second source explains the role of gastrin-dependent''peptide receptors and the 1A receptors perfectly. ''The source explains in detail''how the serotonin neurons make contact with the gastrin-dependent peptide receptors (another type of neuron) and can activate the receptor to result in an itch. ''These GRPR's are located in an area of the spinal cord for pain. ''However, the receptor 'has nothing to do with pain'''(Brookshire, 2014). ''Zhou-Feng''Chen, one of the neuroscientists at Washington University and a coauthor of the study, found that the GRPR receptors were activated when mice scratched''(Brookshire, 2014). ''
Another discovery made was that the GRPR receptors express a serotonin receptor called the 1A receptor. ''These two receptors 'are located very close together on the cell membrane'''(Brookshire, 2014, p. 2). ''It is believed that since they are so close together, they may be interacting together. ''In summary, when serotonin is released in response to a pain stimuli, it hits the 1A receptor also, then this affects the GRPR receptor. ''When we itch, the pain experienced releases serotonin to relieve the pain, but then the 1A receptors are''activated, and the urge to itch starts all over. ''This progression''makes sense and gives us a greater understanding of how the''whole itch/pain process works.
The second article is more esthetically appeasing as it shows a cute pup on the first page scratching his neck with his back paw, who doesn't want to read an article that involves such a pleasant''picture! ''The first article actually makes you want to itch, as it shows a person scratching their arm. ''However, the first sentence draws a reader in as it states as quoted earlier 'Turns out your mom was right: ''Scratching an itch only makes it worse'''(Dryden, 2014, p. 1). ''
It was difficult to find a source that totally contradicted these findings. ''This study was researched in 2014, so of course, any articles written on itching and pain before then, were just speculating whether or not''there was a pathway between the two. ''The common thought was that itching and pain were two separate sensations that had different pathways.
The articles/sources that were used for this essay represented the same information in different ways. ''The first source was more compact and directly''to the point, and the second source was more comprehensive in nature and took on a more personal tone, especially in the beginning of the blog post. ''The information that was relayed however was the same that serotonin is involved in the itching and pain pathways. ''
A more controversial topic and/or research study may have been easier to contrast and compare for this essay. The articles chosen did not seem to fall far from the origination of the Science News Cycle cartoon, maybe the first article was at the second phase as it had some of the same information but it was very basic reporting and not as detailed as the first article. There was not much exaggeration of the facts or misconceptions written that would frighten the general public. It was more knowledge based and actually helpful information. Of course, since the articles were written by two different authors, the tone is set differently, and the facts represented in a different format.
Now that there is evidence to support the connection, hopefully, it will improve the chances of researchers developing medications to help those with chronic itching and to halt the itch/pain cycle. ''There are already medications out there that target 1A receptors (5HT1A receptors)''such as Lithium, valproate, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and''tricyclic antidepressants, but more research needs''to be done before an effective medication is released''for chronic itch. ''It is easier said than done to advise someone to not scratch an itch. ''It is near to impossible''to ignore an itch! ''I actually learned quite a bit about such a common issue by researching this topic and reading these two articles in depth. It is interesting to see how two different sources represent information. Other sources were also reviewed but they did not touch on this particular study in great detail so would not have made for good references for this essay.