Community Chat

[dooBdoo]

          Here's a copy of the abstract.    I know it's become the thing to do, to dismiss the importance of studies or to mock them, and I suppose I understand some of that.   In general, though, so much of what we learn about improving health, medical care, etc., has to come from studies.   Otherwise, how do we advance?    This one, for example, could be extremely useful not only to neuroscience but also to the mental health field, which has sorely been lacking in support and research.    Thanks for the thread, @jaxs mom.

"Abstract

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others’ pain shares some overlapping psychological computations with the processing of one’s own pain.

Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people’s pain.

Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another’s pain.

In two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, participants rated perceived pain, personal distress, and empathic concern in response to reading physical or social pain scenarios, witnessing ostracism in the lab, or visualizing another study participant receiving painful noise blasts.

As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced empathy in response to others’ pain. Acetaminophen also reduced the unpleasantness of noise blasts delivered to the participant, which mediated acetaminophen's effects on empathy.

Together, these findings suggest that the physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for pain and provide a new perspective on the neurochemical bases of empathy. Because empathy regulates prosocial and antisocial behavior, these drug-induced reductions in empathy raise concerns about the broader social side effects of acetaminophen, which is taken by almost a quarter of US adults each week."

[ILTH]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@nana59 wrote:

Ridiculous.......isn't there something more important that needs to be researched......

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@nana59

So ....  you take Tylenol regularly?

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Touché

"I contend that we are both atheists . I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."  Stephen Henry Roberts

[Noel7]

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@dooBdoo wrote:

          Here's a copy of the abstract.    I know it's become the thing to do, to dismiss the importance of studies or to mock them, and I suppose I understand some of that.   In general, though, so much of what we learn about improving health, medical care, etc., has to come from studies.   Otherwise, how do we advance?    This one, for example, could be extremely useful not only to neuroscience but also to the mental health field, which has sorely been lacking in support and research.    Thanks for the thread, @jaxs mom.

"Abstract

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others’ pain shares some overlapping psychological computations with the processing of one’s own pain.

Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people’s pain.

Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another’s pain.

In two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, participants rated perceived pain, personal distress, and empathic concern in response to reading physical or social pain scenarios, witnessing ostracism in the lab, or visualizing another study participant receiving painful noise blasts.

As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced empathy in response to others’ pain. Acetaminophen also reduced the unpleasantness of noise blasts delivered to the participant, which mediated acetaminophen's effects on empathy.

Together, these findings suggest that the physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for pain and provide a new perspective on the neurochemical bases of empathy. Because empathy regulates prosocial and antisocial behavior, these drug-induced reductions in empathy raise concerns about the broader social side effects of acetaminophen, which is taken by almost a quarter of US adults each week."

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@dooBdoo

Thanks, dBd!  Did I miss something?  Was there a source of physical pain other than the noise blast?

[Noel7]

Last night's news said the researchers took it a step further and think it could mean pain itself reduces empathy.

Not seeing it.

[Moonchilde]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@millieshops wrote:

In the amount a normal careful user would take?

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Some might ask exactly what a "normal careful user" is.

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Well - it's fairly well known these days that taking Tylenol 'above and beyond' will flat out destroy your liver and/or kill you, so for the purposes of the study I doubt they would be talking more than strictly recommended doses, but ya never know.

I don't take Tylenol because it just doesn't work on me. Advil, however, has its own issues. I think everything does! 🙀

[nana59]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@nana59 wrote:

Ridiculous.......isn't there something more important that needs to be researched......

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@nana59

So ....  you take Tylenol regularly?

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Yes, yes I do......

[Noel7]

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@nana59 wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@nana59 wrote:

Ridiculous.......isn't there something more important that needs to be researched......

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@nana59

So ....  you take Tylenol regularly?

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Yes, yes I do......

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@nana59

So do I.  I prefer that over something like codeine.

[GingerPeach]

According to the US News & World Report article, not feeling the pain (as was the result of those given Tylenol), was the factor that reduced the empathy.  http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-11/does-the-medicine-in-tylenol-also-reduce-empathy

The experiment was described as two groups, half of each taking Tylenol and the other half of each receiving a placebo.

One group was given descriptions of pain ( @Noel7), the second group was blasted with varying degrees of white noise.

Each group was then expected to report on how much pain others (not in these groups) would suffer from either the described pain or the white noise.

Those who actually took the Tylenol believed the "others" would feel less pain.

I have to wonder then, wouldn't any medication that reduces pain reduce empathy?   Why just acetominophen/Tylenol?

I suppose there will be more study.

[dooBdoo]

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@dooBdoo wrote:

          Here's a copy of the abstract.    I know it's become the thing to do, to dismiss the importance of studies or to mock them, and I suppose I understand some of that.   In general, though, so much of what we learn about improving health, medical care, etc., has to come from studies.   Otherwise, how do we advance?    This one, for example, could be extremely useful not only to neuroscience but also to the mental health field, which has sorely been lacking in support and research.    Thanks for the thread, @jaxs mom.

"Abstract

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others’ pain shares some overlapping psychological computations with the processing of one’s own pain.

Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people’s pain.

Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another’s pain.

In two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, participants rated perceived pain, personal distress, and empathic concern in response to reading physical or social pain scenarios, witnessing ostracism in the lab, or visualizing another study participant receiving painful noise blasts.

As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced empathy in response to others’ pain. Acetaminophen also reduced the unpleasantness of noise blasts delivered to the participant, which mediated acetaminophen's effects on empathy.

Together, these findings suggest that the physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for pain and provide a new perspective on the neurochemical bases of empathy. Because empathy regulates prosocial and antisocial behavior, these drug-induced reductions in empathy raise concerns about the broader social side effects of acetaminophen, which is taken by almost a quarter of US adults each week."

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@dooBdoo

Thanks, dBd!  Did I miss something?  Was there a source of physical pain other than the noise blast?

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          You're welcome, @Noel7!   I don't have access to the full PDF on that site and with all the storming here right now I don't think I'll try to follow up right now. 

(link to abstract:  http://m.scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/05/02/scan.nsw057)

[ILTH]

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@willdob3 wrote:

I can't get past the fact that someone actually came up with this idea and felt it was important enough to do a study on...

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Not to single you out. ...but, to address all those who don't understand the significance/importance of this study: do you not understand the importance of research, curiosity, ramifications, accidental discoveries, knowledge?

Once again, I'm dismayed by lack of understanding the importance of science, medicine, knowledge of human behavior,  intellectual curiosity--a bigger picture. 

"I contend that we are both atheists . I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."  Stephen Henry Roberts