Painkiller Impedes Error-Detection in People, Study Says

Acetaminophen is a popular and effective painkiller but researchers from University of Toronto and University of British Columbia said that it could impede error-detection in the brain. This is the foremost neurological study on how the painkiller could deter the brain from noticing errors.

Science Daily reports that the study was led by Dan Randles and researchers from the University of British Columbia. "The core idea of our study is that we don't fully understand how acetaminophen affects the brain, "explained Randles. While there's been recent behavioral research on the effects of acetaminophen, we wanted to have a sense of what's happening neurologically."

The study involved 60 individuals that were grouped into two. They were provided a target-detection that is called The Go or No Go. They were asked to hit a Go button each time the letter F is displayed on the screen but they should not hit the button if the letter E is showed on the screen.

The participants were attached to an electroencephalogram (EEG). This computes the electrical activity in the brain. If the participants make a mistake, there would be an increase in the ERN or the Error Related Negativity and the Pe or the Error Related Positivity, in which the researchers are looking at.

One of the groups was given 1,000 mg of acetaminophen, which is the maximum dose. The results revealed that there was a smaller Pe when there were errors than those who did not take acetaminophen. This showed that the painkiller inhibits the consciousness of the error.

Randles said that the acetaminophen did not recognize the errors that could have the effect on the cognitive control. He also emphasized that the cognitive control is a significant neurological function because most people are doing cognitive tasks. These include reading, talking, walking and doing the daily tasks of living.

Randles and his team plan to expand more their research for acetaminophen whether this notable painkiller could cause people to "mind wander." WebMD states that acetaminophen is the most common medicine that is used to relieve pain in the United States. These can reduce moderate pains such as headaches, backaches, menstrual cramps and sprains to arthritis.