Male-Specific Conditioned Pain Hypersensitivity in Mice and Humans (Current Biology)

Martin et al. develop a new model of pain memory--in both mice and humans--in which re-exposure to a context previously associated with tonic pain results in hypersensitivity to acute pain. Surprisingly, this phenomenon only occurs in males of both species and appears to be linked with testosterone, stress levels, and the atypical protein kinase C.