Tweet
Forbes - May 11th 2016
Researchers at Ohio State University found that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in the pain reliever Tylenol, can reduce empathy to the pain of others, raising questions about the societal impact of the drug.
“Ultimately, these effects will need to be studied in patients who are actively experiencing pain, but they suggest that a patient taking acetaminophen may have less empathy for the sufferings and troubles of his or her child, spouse or coworker,” study author Dominik Mischkowski, a former Ph.D. student at Ohio State, said via email.
The investigators conducted two randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trials. The first experiment, involving 80 college students, tested the hypothesis that acetaminophen reduces empathy for another’s pain. Half of the students drank a liquid containing 1,000 mg of acetaminophen; the other half ingested a placebo solution that contained the drug. Afterward study participants read eight short scenarios in which someone suffered some sort of pain. They then rated the pain of each person in the scenarios experienced from 1 (no pain at all) to 5 (worst possible pain). Those who took acetaminophen rated the pain of the people in the scenarios to be less severe than did those who took the placebo.
Involving 114 college students, the first part of the second experiment began the same way: Half took acetaminophen and half took the placebo. This time the researchers examined an actual incident of pain: four two-second blasts of white noise that ranged from 75 to 105 decibels. The investigators instructed participants to rate the noise blasts on a scale of 1 (not unpleasant at all) to 10 (extremely unpleasant). Then they were asked to imagine the pain of others in the same situation. The results revealed that “acetaminophen reduced perceived pain, personal distress and empathic concern in response to picturing noise pain.”
Another part of the experiment required participants to meet and briefly socialize with each other. Participants then watched an online game purportedly involving three of the people they had just met. Each individual did this alone. After watching the game, which excluded one of the three people the participants had met, respondents were then asked to rate how much pain and hurt feelings the students in the game felt. Those who took the drug rated the pain and hurt feelings of the excluded students as not being as severe as did the participants who took the placebo.
“Based on these findings that acetaminophen is influencing an important social behavior, this suggests that acetaminophen may be having effects on other social behaviors impacted by empathy as well,” Mischkowski said. “The following is speculation, but it is possible that acetaminophen also fosters harmful behavior towards other people, such as verbal insults or willingness to inflict pain on others, or inhibits prosocial behavior, such as helping out a friend or a homeless person in need.”
He added: “Empathy is an important factor in interpersonal interactions and regulates a lot of other social processes.”
Researchers at Ohio State University found that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in the pain reliever Tylenol, can reduce empathy to the pain of others, raising questions about the societal impact of the drug.
“Ultimately, these effects will need to be studied in patients who are actively experiencing pain, but they suggest that a patient taking acetaminophen may have less empathy for the sufferings and troubles of his or her child, spouse or coworker,” study author Dominik Mischkowski, a former Ph.D. student at Ohio State, said via email.
The investigators conducted two randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trials. The first experiment, involving 80 college students, tested the hypothesis that acetaminophen reduces empathy for another’s pain. Half of the students drank a liquid containing 1,000 mg of acetaminophen; the other half ingested a placebo solution that contained the drug. Afterward study participants read eight short scenarios in which someone suffered some sort of pain. They then rated the pain of each person in the scenarios experienced from 1 (no pain at all) to 5 (worst possible pain). Those who took acetaminophen rated the pain of the people in the scenarios to be less severe than did those who took the placebo.
Involving 114 college students, the first part of the second experiment began the same way: Half took acetaminophen and half took the placebo. This time the researchers examined an actual incident of pain: four two-second blasts of white noise that ranged from 75 to 105 decibels. The investigators instructed participants to rate the noise blasts on a scale of 1 (not unpleasant at all) to 10 (extremely unpleasant). Then they were asked to imagine the pain of others in the same situation. The results revealed that “acetaminophen reduced perceived pain, personal distress and empathic concern in response to picturing noise pain.”
Another part of the experiment required participants to meet and briefly socialize with each other. Participants then watched an online game purportedly involving three of the people they had just met. Each individual did this alone. After watching the game, which excluded one of the three people the participants had met, respondents were then asked to rate how much pain and hurt feelings the students in the game felt. Those who took the drug rated the pain and hurt feelings of the excluded students as not being as severe as did the participants who took the placebo.
“Based on these findings that acetaminophen is influencing an important social behavior, this suggests that acetaminophen may be having effects on other social behaviors impacted by empathy as well,” Mischkowski said. “The following is speculation, but it is possible that acetaminophen also fosters harmful behavior towards other people, such as verbal insults or willingness to inflict pain on others, or inhibits prosocial behavior, such as helping out a friend or a homeless person in need.”
He added: “Empathy is an important factor in interpersonal interactions and regulates a lot of other social processes.”