Effects Of Acetaminophen: This Drug May Make You Less Empathetic, According To Study

An acetaminophen is an effective way to manage headaches and muscle pain. However, a new study suggests that one of the effects of acetaminophen is that it may reduce a person's ability to feel -- not only pain -- but also empathy.

Empathy is the ability of a person to understand other people's feelings and put himself in their shoes, according to Psychology Today. This recent study -- published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience -- is the first one to suggest that lack of empathy is one of the effects of acetaminophen.

Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, might reduce your ability to feel other people’s pain https://t.co/BV95KfM3F3

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 10, 2016

"Research shows that acetaminophen can have psychological effects, but the social effects hasn't been investigated as well yet," study co-author Dominik Mischkowski told CBS News. The study involved examining the ability of the participants to sense other people's pain.

In the first experiment, 40 college students were given a liquid solution with 1,000 mg of acetaminophen while another group of 40 students was given a solution without the presence of any drug. After an hour, the study participants read short stories that contained characters that suffered physical, mental or emotional pain.

Tylenol reduces empathy? I'm glad I stuck with aspirin. https://t.co/sJlRTR7yg2 — George Dinwiddie (@gdinwiddie) May 12, 2016

After reading the stories, the participants rated the characters' level of pain from 1 to 5. The researchers found that those who took the solution with acetaminophen gave a lower rating to the characters' level of pain compared to those who did not take acetaminophen.

However, the researchers noted that the effects of acetaminophen do not include completely eliminating the feeling of empathy. The study only suggests that it may be linked to a slight or moderate reduction of empathetic feelings.