Fig. 1

Sex-based differences in pain pathways. In the male model, microglia are activated to transmit pain, mediated by testosterone levels, while in the female model, the pain pathway is T-cell mediated. If a male has low testosterone levels, the pain pathway switches to the T-cell mediated pathway. Conversely, if a female takes exogenous testosterone, or if she has low T-cell levels, the pain pathway will switch to the microglia pathway