title: Gonadal hormones and sex differences in pain reactivity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sex differences in the response threshold to painful stimuli and the higher number of chronic pain syndromes in women than in men have prompted a series of studies on lower animals and humans aimed at clarifying the role of gonadal hormones in pain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article examines the morphologic and functional aspects of gonadal hormone systems and the relations between gonadal hormones and pain circuits, to identify areas deserving of increased attention in elucidating the endocrine mechanisms that contribute to abnormal pain states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Sienna, Italy. aloisi@unisi.it
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aloisi
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006066:Gonads / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D004967:Estrogens; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones