Medication Pain Reliever Can Dull the Excitement

Acetaminophen is the drug that is commonly used to help relieve headache, muscle pain, fever, and lower back. Unfortunately, these drugs not only helps relieve the pain only. Recent research has shown that acetaminophen can also diminish the excitement.

Acetaminophen works by setting the parts of the brain that controls body temperature as well as inhibit prostaglandin synthesis in the central nervous system. It's just that the content was, in fact, can also dull the excitement. In other words, will minimize the range of feelings that are experienced.

According to Geoffrey Durso, who took to social psychology doctoral program at the Ohio State University, other than as a pain reliever, acetaminophen can also be seen as emotional relief. This result is obtained after researchers showed photos of 40 to 82 students. Some of the photos are very good like the picture with the cat. Several others, including photos unpleasant to look at, like the picture of the child malnutrition.

Half the respondents were given a dose of 1,000 mg of acetaminophen and the other half were given a placebo. After that, the participants are asked to rate the photos that are shown based on how pleasant and unpleasant.

Those who consume acetaminophen assess the whole picture a bit extreme compared to respondents who were in the placebo group. "That is, a positive photo not seen positively under the influence of acetaminophen and photo negative was not seen as a negative," the researchers explained the results of his studies published in Psychological Science.

According to Baldwin Way, Assistant Professor of psychology, the participants who took part in these studies did not seem to know that they are different. "Most people are probably not aware of how their emotions can be affected when taking acetaminophen," emphatic Way.