What is a fate as bad as death? Many contemporary and ancient societies considered banishment at least equal. After all, in the past, estrangement from family or friends, along with the corresponding exile away from the campfire or town gates, meant literally getting thrown to the wolves. Not surprisingly, our brains are wired with circuitry so that we can scrupulously avoid such fates, whether that means expulsion to the desert as in the Biblical tale of Hagar and Ishmael or the heartbreak of not getting that long-awaited invitation to the high school prom. The neurological wiring that makes us feel pain, new research suggests, also means that a common painkiller could ease the sting.

One brain area in question resides about an inch behind your forehead. Called the anterior cingulate cortex, it serves as one of the brain’s control centers for that “why me?” feeling when you get picked last for the dodgeball game. It also happens to be the same circuitry that induces the emotional component of pain, that desperate feeling provoked by the throbbing of a toothache. Evolution may have piggybacked brain functions that regulate social interaction on top of a more primal pain system. The way we speak (“I’m crushed”) even hints at just such a connection.

Research from the 1970s in rodents on the overlapping functions of this brain circuitry showed that opiates tended to quell not only painful stimuli but also the tiny squeaks that signal distress. C. Nathan DeWall, a social psychologist at the University of Kentucky who has researched the neurobiology of rejection for nearly 10 years, wondered whether an extraordinarily simple step to tone down these double-duty pain circuits might work in the human brain, which has evolved to master playground politics and other complex behaviors. Instead of dosing subjects with Vicodin, he and colleagues simply handed out acetaminophen (Tylenol) or a placebo to 62 volunteers. “We didn’t have to use fancy drugs; we didn’t have to get prescriptions,” he says. “All we had to do was find a drug that was safe and effective in alleviating the type of pain that we’re interested in.”

In one part of the study, published in the July Psychological Science, participants reported feelings of rejection on questionnaires. In another part, they played a computer game in which they were progressively excluded from a virtual ball-passing group as time elapsed. Brain imaging revealed that the Tylenol-gobbling group appeared to experience fewer feelings of rejection than those who received a placebo did. “I believe this study reports some of the best evidence that the systems that mediate our reactions to rejection evolved out of systems that signal the potential for physical harm,” says Kevin Ochsner, head of Columbia University’s social cognitive neuroscience lab.

One study does not a combo headache and heartache drug make. “That’s a question I get a lot: Should I take some acetaminophen before opening the letter from a potential employer?” DeWall comments. “It’s a little too early to make a call for widespread use.”

If validated, acetaminophen may become an invaluable research tool in seeking the neural underpinnings of not only exclusion but other mental processes related to social behavior. In one unpublished study, DeWall and his associates have found that subjects’ moral judgments change after receiving acetaminophen. They become less wracked by indecision when facing the classic moral dilemma in which one person must be sacrificed to save many; they reject out of hand what they perceive to be a ludicrous choice. If acetaminophen really does assist in resolving internal emotional conflict, it might help socially awkward individuals who become distraught when confronted by more routine moral choices. An ability to induce subtle shifts in perspective may give entirely new meaning to the Tylenol slogan of “Feel better.”

12 Comments

1. 1. Manfred FTvG 11:40 AM 8/30/10

   So what does this say about people taking daily aspirin?

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2. 2. karlchwe 12:15 PM 8/31/10

   Sure, acetaminophen might be useful to socially awkward people. But it also might help people ignore the moral consequences of their actions. Is that what we want?
   
   The pain of social rejection, like pain from physical injury, evolved for a reason. Probably that pain serves to keep people from violating group norms. The only people who don't feel that social pain are sociopaths.
   
   That classic moral dilemma, whether to sacrifice one for the many, is posed as a mere thought experiment. There are people who actually have to make those decisions in real life, such as doctors, political leaders, the military, etc. I would want those people to feel every bit of the agony those situations call for.

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3. 3. docrhon 11:07 AM 9/15/10

   I think this opens up a whole new way of thinking about emotional pain. I always knew I had a high pain threshold, and perhaps it gives chronic phyiscal pain suferers some hope in terms of looking at psychological relief methods.

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4. 4. dmmiller2k 11:42 AM 9/15/10

   Taking @Manfred FTvG's comment one step further, what about ibuprofen, motrin, etc.? Is this effect specific to acetaminophen in particular or would pretty much any non-specific pain reducer do the trick?

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5. 5. hotblack 12:15 PM 9/15/10

   "When your conscience hits you, knock it back with pills"
   
   Trouble is, when your lifetime has been one long stretch of abandonment, neglect and rejection, how is medicating any different than being addicted to pills, if you're deciding to depend on them... to put you in a better mood...

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6. 6. galaxy_man in reply to karlchwe 02:28 PM 9/15/10

   That might be a valid argument if contemporary "normal" peer groups weren't completely twisted by our culture based on rampant materialism, sex appeal, and wealth.

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7. 7. amybarton1188 in reply to Manfred FTvG 07:07 PM 9/15/10

   Aspirin doesn't have acetaminophen in it. Plus, all drugs all used for many different things.

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8. 8. threeboymommy 08:40 PM 9/15/10

   This article fails to mention that using acetaminophen has detrimental effects. It depletes glutathione, your body's main antioxidant which protects your liver and helps detoxify your cells. There are numerous cases of acetaminophen toxicity every year because people abuse it and damage their liver.

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9. 9. threeboymommy 08:44 PM 9/15/10

   This article and the researcher ignores the fact that acetaminophen depletes glutathione, the body's main antioxidant which protects your liver and helps your cells detoxify. There are numerous cases of acetaminophen toxicity each year due to people abusing it and damaging their liver function. Not to mention the many recalls on Tylenol due to other contamination!

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10. 10. jtdwyer in reply to threeboymommy 05:38 AM 9/16/10

    threeboymommy - Excellent point. Unfortunately there are few remedies without consequences for sufferers of chronic pain.

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11. 11. George P. Burdell 10:28 AM 9/17/10

    I personally believe Tylenol needs to consider the effects of their medicine in a whole new way. People suffering from depression will probably begin to abuse the drug and so will others. The pill needs to get taken off the shelves and put behind the counter where not just anyone can get it anymore. Yes, this might cause them to lose money, however, how much money is a human's life worth? If the acetaminophen in Tylenol can cause damage to the liver, it would be irresponsible for them to keep it out where anyone can purchase it. If they refuse, the FDA should step in and make it happen.

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12. 12. verdai 06:42 PM 9/17/10

    well, opiates or whatever, this is the end of the search for pain.

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