The findings represent the most recent step in the researchers’ examination of dimorphism in pain — in this case, how migraine functions differently in either sex. Dussor is a leading migraine researcher who is focused on exposing the mechanisms behind the poorly understood condition. “We use ‘migraine’ as an umbrella term, and there are almost certainly people with types of migraine that we don’t yet appreciate. Research elsewhere has shown that administering CGRP intravenously to migraine patients — both male and female — can trigger a migraine. “This peptide, released by neurons, has been investigated by pain researchers for decades, because it is expressed in sensory neurons that are the first step in the pain pathway,” Dussor said.