# Mis-Wired Nerves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472 "2008-02-06T02:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/1 "2008-02-06T02:27:52Z")
Has this ever happened to you? You feel an itch on one part of your body-and at the same time, another spot starts to itch. Is this because the brain is confusing two nerve? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/2 "2008-02-06T13:39:29Z")
It happens to me too. I’m not sure why, though. I guess as you say it must have something to do with nerve signals getting confused or misinterpreted by the brain. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/3 "2008-02-06T17:16:20Z")
IANA biologist, but this happens to me all the time. I think there’s an itch on the right side of my head but when I try to scratch it, it’s not really there and then feels like the \*same itch \* is really on the sole of my right foot, inside of my arm, or something. I do think there is a certain amount of crosstalk in the nervous system. I don’ t know if this takes place in the nerve pathways, or in the brain. I suspect, if this is true, that might be the grain of truth behind something like reflexology as a massage therapy. ---
**Author:** ![herownself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8baadc/32.png) [@herownself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herownself)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/4 "2008-02-06T22:53:48Z")
I had a small operation to have a _thingy_ removed from my neck. They had to go a little deeper than anticipated, and said they had ‘encountered’ some nerves while they were at it. I had a 2-inch incision on my neck which hurt, then itched, for 2 inches along my jaw - straight up from the incision. The part of my neck between was totally numb, but has come back, feeling strange. I still don’t like it when people touch me there. And never during ‘romantic’ situations - that’s just oogy. Nerves are strange. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/5 "2008-02-07T13:13:56Z")
[QUOTE=CookingWithGas] I do think there is a certain amount of crosstalk in the nervous system. I don’ t know if this takes place in the nerve pathways, or in the brain. [/QUOTE] I recall reading that there is “crosstalk” between nerves, especially in the head, which has a lot of nerves close together. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/6 "2008-02-07T19:52:53Z")
Yeah, there is a spot to the left of my chin that when I scratch it, I get a stabbing itch on my left shoulderblade. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-wired-nerves/436472/7 "2008-02-07T21:20:43Z")
Ever go outside into bright daylight and have to sneeze? That’s thought to be caused by nerve signal spillage. I had surgery to immobilize my right ankle, and I have severe nerve damage in that foot as a result. It’s quite odd. There are parts of my foot that respond to any pressure with _pain_ rather than _pressure_. I can rub a qtip across the back of my heel and it will feel like I’m dragging a dull knife through my flesh. I get random nerve signals too. My foot jerks around or flexes suddenly every now and then, or I’ll feel squeezing pressure on my toes. I was sitting funny once trying to finish something on my computer, and when I moved my I foot got pins & needles. It actually felt like someone hammering icicles into my ankle with a mallet. It’s been 2 1/2 years at this point, so it looks like it’s not going to be healing any more.