ArticleScientific reports2023
A pill as a quick solution: association between painkiller intake, empathy, and prosocial behavior.
Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Too Insensitive to Care: Alcohol Increases Human Aggression by Increasing Pain Threshold.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2025Trial
- Nearsighted empathy: exploring the effect of empathy on distance perception, with eye movements as modulators.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated a link between the administration of analgesic drugs and the reduction of empathy levels in humans. This apparent blunting effect of pain medication has been explained through shared neural mechanisms for the first-hand and the empathic experience of pain (simulation theory). Considering that analgesics are among the most consumed drugs in the world and the ability to empathize with others is fundamental to human social interactions, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether the typical day-to-day analgesic consumption rate in Austria and Germany is associated with a reduction in empathy and prosocial behavior. We therefore collected self-reports of analgesic consumption behavior as well as empathy for pain and prosocial behavior measures in an online survey (n = 940). Analyses revealed no significant association between the analgesic intake frequency and measures of empathy or prosocial behavior. However, liberal intake of analgesics (i.e. mind-set of "a pill is a quick solution") was linked to lower empathic concern and helping behavior, which may hint towards a negative effect in people who take pain medication for non-pain related issues or episodes of low pain. Nevertheless, further research is needed to investigate the effects of analgesic drugs in high frequency users.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.