Again, those who had received the acetaminophen rated the other person's pain as being less severe compared to students who'd drunk the placebo liquid. [One big myth about medicine: We know how drugs work]In the first experiment, 80 participants were asked to drink a liquid. Their conclusion: Acetaminophen, the most common drug ingredient in the United States, can reduce a person's capacity to empathize with another person's pain, whether that pain is physical or emotional. After an hour, all subjects were asked to rate the pain experienced by characters in eight different fictional scenarios. They were then asked to rate the pain of another (anonymous) study participant who'd also been subjected to the unpleasant sounds.

Source: Washington Post May 12, 2016 04:26 UTC