Sure, Botox can banish crows feet, smooth those wrinkles, and lift those frown lines, making the client look more youthful--and somewhat expressionless. But the treatment may have effects that are more than skin deep. A new study suggests that
In the now-common cosmetic treatment, a doctor injects botulinum toxin, sold under the brand name Botox, under the skin. The toxin kicks in, temporarily paralyzing facial muscles, smoothing skin out, and making a person look less wrinkly as a result. That paralysis, however, seems to interfere with a known feedback loop, in which
by paralyzing the frown muscles that ordinarily are engaged when we feel angry, Botox short-circuits the emotion itself [Newsweek].
smiling adds to your happiness and frowning multiplies your sadness [LiveScience].
And tamping down a person's emotions seems to interfere with the ability to read emotions in others. Says study leader David Havas:
"Botox [also] induces a kind of ...
