Most people think about pain as a simple cause-and-effect process. For example, if you touch a hot stove, you probably assume that the nerves in the skin feel how hot the stove is and signals are sent ...

Gate control theory suggests that the spinal cord contains a neurological 'gate' that either blocks pain signals or allows them to continue on to the brain. Unlike an actual gate, which opens and ...

The spinal cord transmits pain signals to the brain, where they are consciously perceived. But not all the impulses arrive at their destination: Certain neurons act as checkpoints and determine ...