Botox gets rid of lines of your face, but does it also dull your emotions? That's what a new psychology study claims. It's based on the reasoning that when you smile, even when you are sad, you will feel happier, or when you pout, you will feed sadder. Researchers claim when you can't use all of your facial expressions, it has a secondary effect of dulling your emotions as well.Dr. Joseph Chang, an eye surgeon and Botox expert isn't buying it. “It's very important to realize that they’re making a hypothesis. They are not claiming that they are proving anything,” Chang said.
The study was conducted by psychologists at Barnard College in New York. They said that because of the lack of total natural facial expression after Botox injections, there isn't as much feedback to the brain, and hence, dulled emotions.
The researchers showed people emotional videos before and after the test. They claim people who were injected with Botox showed “a significant decrease in the strengh of emotional experience” compared with the control group.
Chang has not seen the actual study, but he disagrees with recent media reports about the study which said ‘Botox paralyzes emotions’. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I bet you couldn't find a single one of my patients who could say, who would agree, that Botox paralyzes their emotions. That's highly misleading,” Chang said.
The study appears in the current issue of the journal 'Emotion'.
