Botox injections: Reading and mimicking emotions hampered

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDApr 26 2011

In cosmetics, a Botox injection, consisting of a small dose of botulinum toxin, can be used to prevent formation of wrinkles by paralyzing facial muscles and can therefore make users appear less emotional. Now a new study finds that the cosmetic toxin may also make recipients less able to read the emotions of others.

According to social psychologists a person identifies emotions in part by mimicking each other's facial expressions. “When you mimic, you get a window into their inner world,” said lead researcher David Neal, a psychology professor at University of Southern California, in a statement. “When we can't mimic, as with Botox, that window is a little darker.”

The team conducted two experiments: the first involved 31 women who had received either Botox or Restylane, a dermal filler that smoothes wrinkles but doesn't affect facial movement, in Los Angeles. In a second experiment, 56 women and 39 men were given a topical facial gel that functioned as an "anti-Botox," by augmenting signals from facial muscles. All participants were asked looked at a series of faces on a computer screen and identify the displayed emotions.

The team found that compared with the Restylane-treated control group, the women who got Botox were less able to read emotions based on facial expression. Meanwhile, the participants who got the gel were better than the others at perceiving emotions. “Mimicry promotes liking and emotional sharing,” the researchers say, “and may contribute to long-term relationship satisfaction.” Having a Botox mask may undermine those bonds. Past research has suggested that muscle-paralyzing treatments also hinder people from feeling their own emotions - which could potentially interfere with their ability to empathize.

“Human communication can be a very subtle thing,” Neal said. “When you eliminate a slice of information — whether by communicating through e-mail and Twitter or by paralyzing your own facial muscles — it can be the difference between successful communication and failure.”

The study appears online in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Psychologist/researcher David A. Havas at the University of Wisconsin–Madison pointed out the potentially pro-Botox aspect of this finding, “Maybe if I am not picking up sad, angry cues in the environment, that will make me happier,” he said of Botox users. He added, “Blocking facial expression diminishes the experience of emotion. … Our faces are normally alive with activity, which contributes to our understanding of each other, and there is a strong link between our facial expression and our ability to comprehend the meaning of language. If people seem slow in reacting to what they are being told, it is likely to be interpreted as a lack of sympathy or interest.”