(NaturalPath) A new study in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience finds that painkillers kill a lot more than pain; they may also kill empathy. According to the study, acetaminophen, found in the common over-the-counter painkiller Tylenol, reduces empathy for the pain of other individuals. Tylenol is a wildly popular drug in the United States, used by almost 53 million adults every week.
The study conducted two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments in which participants rated the perceived pain of other participants. One group was give 1000mg of the drug, while the other group was given a placebo. The participants then read a selection of painful scenarios, including a range of both emotional and physical pain. Pain was rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Participants who took the drug tended to rate pain levels lower than the placebo group.
In another part of the study, participants were shown scenarios in which a someone was socially ostracized, and they were told to rate their perceived emotional pain.
“In this case, the participants had the chance to empathize with the suffering of someone who they thought was going through a socially painful experience,” explained Baldwin Way, study author. “Still, those who took acetaminophen showed a reduction in empathy. They weren’t as concerned about the rejected person’s hurt feelings.”
These findings suggest that taking a physical painkiller can reduce your empathy for the pain of others, which warrants further study into the neurochemical origins of empathy and antisocial behavior. This raises serious concerns, since the drug-reduced empathy levels were caused by a drug taken by so many Americans each day.