Study
So, how did they find out about this? The researchers let 40 students drink a beverage with 1000 mg paracetamol in it and 40 other students a beverage without the paracetamol. The participants didn’t know which of the two beverages they had drunk. Next, the students had to read eight stories with descriptions of physical and mental pain. In one of the stories, someone lost their father and in another one, someone cut themselves so deep they could see their bone. Pretty heavy stuff.
Estimate
The students had to estimate how much pain the main character was in on a scale from 1 to 5. It turns out: the students that had taken paracetamol estimated the pain a lot lower than the students that hadn’t taken paracetamol. The researchers think the reason for this is that pain and empathy are located in the same part of the brain. Earlier research shows that you also experience a lot less joy when you’ve taken paracetamol. We’re going to think twice before taking this painkiller from now on…
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Source: Libelle, RTL Nieuws | Image: Pexels
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