Acetaminophen study yields new insights into neurobiological underpinnings of empathy

Empathy is a cornerstone of social behavior, impairments of which are characteristic of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and psychopathy. According to the “shared representations” theory, empathy relies on neural processes similar to those underpinning the first-hand experience of a given emotion. A recent study by Mischkowski, Crocker, and Way (Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 11: 1345–1353, 2016) provides novel insights into neurobiological underpinnings of empathy by demonstrating that acetaminophen, a widely used painkiller, reduces empathy for other's physical and social pain.