Botox Injections Interrupt Emotions

[Iason Ouabache]

http://www.latimes.com/news/health/la-he-botox-20100531,0,4090611.story

Botox may be famous for erasing frown lines, but it also may disrupt an important chain of communication between the face and the brain.

Not only do our facial expressions reflect our emotional ups and downs, they appear to send crucial feedback to our brain, suggests a growing body of research. Without that full feedback loop, our ability to understand — and be understood — might be constrained.

In a recent study of women undergoing cosmetic treatment with Botox, researchers found that the treatment, which blocks facial nerve impulses, seemed to slow the ability to comprehend emotional language.

"We know that language moves us emotionally," said the lead author, David Havas, a psychology graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "What this study shows is that that's partly because it moves us physically."

...
In the new study, [Havas] and colleagues investigated whether temporarily paralyzing the corrugator muscle blocked people's ability to process negative emotional language.

The researchers asked 40 women waiting to receive first-time Botox injections to read a series of 60 sentences on a computer, pressing a key when they understood each sentence. To make sure participants were actually reading the sentences, the researchers periodically checked their reading comprehension. Participants repeated the test, using a fresh set of questions, two weeks later when the Botox treatment's paralyzing effect was at its height.

After treatment, participants were slower to understand sentences conveying sadness or anger than they had been before treatment. There was no such change for happy sentences. Mood analyses ruled out the possibility that the women were simply happier after receiving Botox, making them quicker to comprehend happier material.

The results indicate that our own facial expressions help the brain make sense of the social world, Havas says.

[Telarus]

Iiiiiiiiinteresting.

[Jasper]

We've known for years that smiling is part of an emotional feedback loop, I'm glad to hear academia is starting to put the pieces together.

[Hoser McRhizzy]

We've known for years that smiling is part of an emotional feedback loop, I'm glad to hear academia is starting to put the pieces together.

^THIS^

But really.  Who knew injecting botulism into your face would have negative consequences?


                                    Just one more shot.  I can still FEEL something...
                                            /



inb4 "exciting new discovery: botox as treatment for manic-depression" headline.

[Jasper]

Hey...  Cool idea.

Any takers?

[Telarus]

Is Nigel's fake new site still up? This would make great AWS material.

[NotPublished]

 

They need one of those "What would you look like on Botox" websites

[Kai]

We've known for years that smiling is part of an emotional feedback loop, I'm glad to hear academia is starting to put the pieces together.

^THIS^

But really.  Who knew injecting botulism into your face would have negative consequences?


                                    Just one more shot.  I can still FEEL something...
                                            /



inb4 "exciting new discovery: botox as treatment for manic-depression" headline.

Yeah, who knew that injecting a deadly toxin into human flesh would cause bad things to happen?

Sometimes, humans, I SWEAR, I just want them all to GTFO my planet.

[LMNO]

The scientologists are probably gonna corner the market on this.  Auditing + Botox = Clear.

[Doktor Howl]

Anyone who would inject botox into their face to try to be someone they used to be, instead of who they are, is suffering from rampant pinkboyism, and deserving of the same scorn as those people who had their asses operated on so they could have J-Lo's butt, some years ago.

Fact:  Aging is a natural process.  You can't stay 22 forever, and you'll make yourself miserable if you try.  I could understand if there was a treatment that actually made you stay young, but cosmetics that actually harm you?  Leave them for the page 6 retards.

[LMNO]

What's this about J-Lo's butt?

[Doktor Howl]

What's this about J-Lo's butt?

10 years or so ago, it was all the rage for women to have their butts operated on to try to get the same ass end as J-Lo.  Instead of, you know, their own.  Not obese women, mind you, but people in good condition, who simply wanted the same shaped butt as hers.

I can't think of a better definition of Pinkdom.

[LMNO]

Well, you have a point, but I bet the beaches looked pretty nice for a season or two.

[Hoser McRhizzy]

Hey...  Cool idea.

Any takers?

You mean, for the fake headline?  Or did you mean something else?

I can toss in a straight copy-paste plagiarized bit if anyone wants to mess about with it...

Exciting New Discovery: botox as treatment for manic-depression

Botox may be famous for erasing frown lines, but it also may disrupt an often volatile chain of communication between the face and the brain.

Not only do our facial expressions reflect our emotional ups and downs, they appear to send unstable and unpredictable feedback to our brain, suggests a growing body of research.  Experts believe that interrupting the feedback loop may be the key to real relief for people suffering from emotional disorders.

In a recent study of women undergoing cosmetic treatment with Botox, researchers found that the treatment, which blocks facial nerve impulses, seemed to temper overreaction to emotional stimuli.

"We know that emotions can be problematic for many bipolar and manic-depressive people," said the lead author, Dr. Ronald Davidson. "What this study shows is that their faces may be more to blame than previously thought."

In the new study, Davidson and colleagues investigated whether temporarily paralyzing the corrugator muscle helped people to filter out unnecessarily positive or negative emotional language.

The researchers asked 40 women waiting to receive first-time Botox injections to read a series of 60 sentences on a computer, pressing a key when they understood each sentence. To make sure participants were actually reading the sentences, the researchers periodically checked their reading comprehension. Participants repeated the test, using a fresh set of questions, two weeks later when the Botox treatment's paralyzing effect was at its height.

After treatment, participants were less inclined toward sentences conveying emotional extremes than they had been before treatment.  The results indicate that Botox could be a viable treatment for manic depressives, Davidson said.  "What we're learning, is that if we can control the face, we can possibly control the brain."

- has no idea what AWS is

Yeah, who knew that injecting a deadly toxin into human flesh would cause bad things to happen?

Is it wrong that this made me giggle? 

[Doktor Howl]

Well, you have a point, but I bet the beaches looked pretty nice for a season or two.

Scarred asses as far as the eye could see.  Like looking at a reunion of people who ran from battle in the middle ages.

Protip:  Very few people can afford the best plastic surgeons.