Policy Insights from The Neurocritic: Alarm Over Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen Blocking Emotion Is Overblown

Just in time for Valentine ' s Day, floats in a raft of misleading headlines:Scientists have found the cure for a broken heartPainkillers may also mend a broken heartTaking painkillers could ease heartaches - as well as headachesParacetamol and ibuprofen could ease heartaches - as well as headachesIf Tylenol and Advil were so effective in “mending broken hearts”, “easing heartaches”, and providing a “cure for a broken heart”, we would be a society of perpetually happy automatons, wiping away the suffering of breakup and divorce with a mere dose of acetaminophen. We ' d have Tylenol epidemics and Advil epidemics to rival the scourge of the presentOpioid Epidemic.Really, people,1words have meanings. If you exaggerate, readers will believe statements that are blown way out of proportion. And they may even start taking doses of drugs that can harm theirkidneys andlivers.These media pieces also have distressing subtitles:Common painkillers that kill empathy... some popular painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen have been found to reduce people ’s empathy, dull their emotions and change how people process information.A new scientific review of studies suggests over-the-counter pain medication could be having all sorts of psychological effects that consumers do not expect.Not only do they block people ’s physical pain, they also block emotions.The authors of the study, published in the journalPolicy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, write: ...
Source: The Neurocritic - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: blogs