Taking acetaminophen to relieve aches and pains might seem harmless, but it could end up killing your empathy.
A study by researchers at The Ohio State University found that people who had taken a painkiller with acetaminophen had reduced empathy for the physical and emotional pain of others. Study participants who took acetaminophen were less likely to show empathy compared with those who did not consume the painkiller, researchers found. The findings were published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and is the most common drug in the United States.
During the study, researchers gathered 80 college students and gave half of them a liquid with 1,000 milligrams of acetaminophen, while the others received a placebo. The participants then read stories about characters experiencing various types of pain, such as a knife wound or a loved one’s death. Those who had taken the acetaminophen said they rated the physical and emotional pain the characters experienced lower than those who had not taken the medication rated it.
The second part of the study included 114 participants, half of whom were given acetaminophen. They were asked to listen to short, loud blasts of white noise and rate its unpleasantness as well as how annoying it would be for others. Once again, those who took the painkiller found the noise less disturbing.
Finally, the participants watched a game in which two participants excluded a third player. Those who had taken the acetaminophen showed less empathy for the excluded player than those who didn’t take the medicine.
So the next time you pop a Tylenol, try to remember that it might reduce your empathetic feelings.