A bug doesn't have to be crawling on your skin for you to feel that itchy sensation. Living in New York City, I occasionally see local news headlines and hear stories from friends of friends about the horrors of bed bugs. Although I have yet to face the nightmarish ordeal myself, I do have the same unpleasant experience whenever the topic comes up: a sudden overwhelming itching sensation on my skin. I know I’m not alone. Apparently it’s not uncommon to feel the urge to scratch when you talk or think about bugs. And in fact, there are even terms to describe this specific phenomenon. So why exactly do conversations or thoughts about creepy crawly critters cause an itching sensation, even in the absence of any actual bugs? And is there anything you can do about this phenomenon? HuffPost asked some experts to break it down. What’s happening in our brains and bodies when we talk or think about bugs?“The brain doesn’t just process reality ― it constructs it,” Dr. Shaheen E. Lakhan, a board-certified neurologist, told HuffPost. “When you hear about bugs crawling on someone’s scalp or imagine bedbugs in a mattress, your brain activates the same neural circuits as if it were happening to you. This is call