16/09/2025
There is some research suggesting that acetaminophen (known as paracetamol in many countries; “Panadol” is a brand of acetaminophen) may reduce empathy — both for people’s physical/social pain and for their positive emotions. Below is a summary of key studies, what they found, possible mechanisms, and caveats.
What the studies say
1. Empathy for pain / social pain
A study by Mischkowski, Crocker & Way (2016) found that people who took 1,000 mg acetaminophen reported lower empathy for others’ physical pain and social pain, compared to those who got placebo.
For example, after acetaminophen, participants rated others’ pain in hypothetical scenarios as less severe, felt less personal distress, etc.
2. Empathy for positive experiences (positive empathy)
A more recent study (“A Social Analgesic? Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Reduces Positive Empathy”) found that acetaminophen reduces affective responses when people read about uplifting or positive experiences of others. Participants reported less “personal pleasure” and fewer empathic feelings directed toward others’ positive outcomes.
Importantly, it did not significantly affect how positive they thought the event was, or how much pleasure the protagonist in the scenario felt—but their own emotional response (i.e. “sharing in” the positive) was dampened.
3. Neurobiology / rat models
In animal studies, acetaminophen has been shown to reduce “empathy-like” behavior (for example, helping or responding to distressed conspecifics) in rats. This was correlated with lower levels of oxytocin and vasopressin in brain regions (prefrontal cortex, amygdala) thought to underpin social/emotional behavior.
Also, brain imaging work in humans finds that acetaminophen reduces activation in brain areas associated with physical pain, social pain, emotional distress, such as the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex.
Possible mechanisms
The neurologic overlap between physical pain and emotional/social pain/affective empathy is important. Areas like the anterior insula, anterior cingulate are involved in both. When acetaminophen dampens response to physical pain (its “analgesic” effect), it might also reduce response to emotional or social suffering.
There may be effects on neurotransmitters/neurohormones (in animal work, oxytocin & vasopressin) that are involved in social bonding/empathy.
It seems to reduce affective reactivity more than cognitive evaluation. That is, people still understand or perceive what others are going through, but their emotional “sharing” or “felt empathy” is lowered.
Important caveats & what's not known
Effect size: The reductions in empathy are not huge; they are statistically detectable in controlled settings. But it's unclear how large or meaningful those effects are in day-to-day life and whether they matter socially. Studies tend to use relatively large doses (e.g. ~1000 mg) and short time frames.
Dose, frequency, context: Most studies test one or a few doses, not long-term usage. We don’t know well how frequent/long-term — or clinically recommended use — influences empathy over time. Also, some studies find no effect, especially in less extreme situations.
Individual differences: Baseline empathy traits may matter. Some people might be more or less affected. Also whether one is already in physical pain, or emotionally distracted, etc.
Cognitive vs affective components: Many studies show the affective (feeling) component is more dampened; the cognitive component (recognizing someone’s pain; understanding their emotional state) is less affected. So “lack of empathy” is not total — more a reduction in “feeling with” others, rather than in recognizing.
Human relevance: Animal studies show empathy-like behavior reduced under acetaminophen, but extrapolation to humans is partial. Also human studies are often with healthy volunteers, using scenarios or hypothetical tasks, not actual interpersonal behavior in natural settings.
Summary & Implications
There is reasonable evidence that acetaminophen / paracetamol (i.e. Panadol) can reduce empathy in certain circumstances: particularly, it dampens how much people feel the pains or joys of others, rather than how much they intellectually understand them.
The effects appear when people take a full dose (or a substantial dose) in experimental settings, and are more evident with emotional or social pain, or positive empathy (feeling joy for others), than mere cognitive perception of others’ experience.
This doesn’t mean that a single use of Panadol will “make you unempathetic” in a lasting way. But it does raise interesting questions about how commonly used “mood-blunting” effects of analgesics might influence social interactions, emotional sensitivity, decision making, etc
