OTC pain meds mess with your head: Study suggests that as they suppress physical pain, they also suppress empathy and emotional pain

( Natural News ) There is growing evidence that over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines have adverse effects on the brain. OTC pain medicines, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen, could affect the mind of its users , according to a review of studies published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences . The study was carried out by a team of researchers from University of California , Santa Barbara who examined whether over-the-counter pain medications affected people’s thoughts and emotions. In the study review, the research team analyzed seven studies published between 2010 and 2016. “Researchers started looking at these [OTC] pain medication effects on psychology because there have been debates in the literature if brain regions responsive to physical pain are also responsive to social pain,” said lead author Kyle Ratner, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at the Universi t y of California , Santa Barbara . A study in the review published in 2016 revealed that the ability of people to empathize with others might go down after acetaminophen is taken. The researchers of that study found that the participants were less affected when they read about other people suffering from physical or emotional pain in comparison to those who did not take the medicine. Moreover, one of the studies in the review found that acetaminophen increased the number of errors participants made when they played a game. In another study included in the paper, it was revealed that female participants who took ibuprofen felt less-unpleasant feelings from emotionally painful experiences compared to those who took a placebo. However, on the other hand, the male participants in the study reported the opposite. Support our mission and protect your health: Organic Seeds of Life combines Red Raspberry Seed Power, Black Cumin Seed Power […]

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