Is it correct that the body only responds to the most painful stimulus?

Question

*I'm rather ashamed to say that this question is partly based on an episode of House.*I have previously heard that, if there are multiple simultaneous painful stimuli, the mind will only feel the sensation of pain from the most severe injury. A large amount of googling has turned up nothing and PubMed searches are proving tricky as I cant find the name of this effect (if it exists).If it does exist, is the mechanism solely effective for pain signals or would we for example only feel cold at our coldest points (i.e. from the face *or* the hands rather than both) on a frosty morning?

Answer 1

I would look up the gate-theory of pain. The body only has the ability to send so many signals to the spinal cords and the brain. For this reason you can trick your body into not feeling pain. For instance, if you are going to get an injection or a needle of any kind, some doctors will use cold spray or a vibration device. This is because your body will only be able to accept the cold sensation or the vibration sensation over the quick pinch of the needle. This is why it is not as painful with these tricks. The same thing is true if you were to massage a painful area or put pressure on it sometimes as these are both different sensations that are sent through the spinal cord and brain at the same time as the pain.