Taking a painkiller ‘reduces empathy’
PARACETAMOL may curb empathy as well as control pain.
Scientists believe the drug dulls the part of the brain that senses discomfort and that allows us to imagine what others are enduring.
In an experiment, they gave 80 students a drink ahead of reading short stories about people who were suffering.
Half of the drinks were spiked with paracetamol and the volunteers consuming the painkiller were less concerned about the distress they read about.
A second test, involving 114 participants, found that those who had taken paracetamol – also known as acetaminophen – were less bothered by loud noise. They also believed others would find it less irritating.
The Ohio State University researchers concluded: ‘Acetaminophen can reduce empathy as well as serve as a painkiller. It is concerning. Empathy is important.
‘If you are having an argument with your spouse and you just took acetaminophen, this research suggests you might be less understanding of what you did to hurt your spouse’s feelings.’
Commenting on the second test, they said: ‘Acetaminophen reduced the pain they felt, but it also reduced their empathy
‘Doesn’t seem a big deal’
for others who were experiencing the same noise blasts.
‘These findings suggest other people’s pain doesn’t seem as big a deal to you when you’ve taken acetaminophen.’
The team is now starting to study ibuprofen, to see whether it produces similar results. Paracetamol has a number of surprising effects – research has found it can take some of the pain out of making difficult choices and it can blunt feelings of joy.
It is thought that some of the brain areas involved in physical pain are also involved in mental discomfort, and so reducing one has knock-on effects on the other.
The University of Kentucky research team behind the finding about pain and choices said: ‘When people make decisions, they sometimes use words related to physical pain.
‘People might say it hurt to sell their home, that they were crushed when they decided to withdraw money from their retirement investment portfolio earlier than they’d planned, and that they were pained when they decided to resign from a job.’
The Ohio State University research was reported in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal.