Does Botox Deaden Perception?

I read this article from USA Today about Botox deadening perception of others emotions. It says that because one can't mimic facial expressions when one has Botox, you may not be able to pick up on someone else's emotions. How concerned should patients be about this newly discovered side affect?

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/story/2011/04/Botox-may-deaden-perception-study-says-/46378296/1

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10 Doctor Answers | Asked by Makenzie in Seattle, WA

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Botox and the perception of your own or others' feelings.

This is a very interesting issue that comes up in the press in various forms: Botox reducing the ability to feel happy, Botox reducing the ability to feel sad, Botox reducing the ability to be empathetic to others' emotions. I recently had a new patient treated with Botox for the first time who came in at her follow up and told me that since the Botox she has felt happier and less stressed: and she thinks it's because she can't crease her muscles into the stressed/worried shape... more

Botox masking facial expressions

Some actors avoid Botox as it will inhibit their full range of facial expressions as they demonstrate different emotions. However, artful Botox treatment does not create full masks that don't move. I have not had pateints who have mentioned they're unhappy not to look angry or sad, in fact, most are so grateful that they're no longer told they look angry when they're frown lines are treated. They also feel less stressed as the physical tightness of their frown... more

Botox and perception

It would be news to me if one's facial expressions have any connection with one's emotions at all. Emotions are involuntary and under the control of a completely different portion of the neurological system. Facial expressions are controlled by motor neurons which are inhibited after Botox treatment. Just because a person can't frown doesn't mean they cannot empathize with someone who is crying.

Botox and the "Deadening of the Perception of Emotions"

I am not sure what type of emotional response I should have to your question because my Botox just kicked in (just kidding, never had it). Researchers with too much time on their hands can "prove" almost anything. After 20 years of marriage, treating my wife with an occasional touch of Botox, I guarantee that even without moving her glabellar muscles she can perceive my emotions and those of our daughters, and is very empathetic for hours on the phone with friends... more

Michael A. Persky, MD

21 reviews

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

drpersky.com

These stories are extremely overstated.

There are some extremely interesting neuropsychological studies looking at the effect of BOTOX injections of emotion. These study the FDA approved glabellar treatment. This is the part of the face that pinches the eyebrows together and are an important part of what makes an angry face. People who have been treated score higher on scales that measure the emotion of happiness. However, it is a big leap to suggest that botox deadens emotions. Now on the other hand,... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

8 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox cannot deaden a person's ability to sympathize with others' emotions

A person is still able to feel all the emotions after their Botox treatment just as well as before. Millions of people have been treated with Botox over the last decade, and this is the first study to show such results. True that full mimicking of facial expressions may not be possible if a person has had Botox treatment to the glabella. But the corrugators and procerus (the main muscles treated in the glabella) are responsible for frowning and bringing down the eyebrows,... more

Does Botox Deaden Perception?

When properly performed Botox softens dynamic wrinkles. These are wrinkles caused by motion (i.e. dynamic). A person should still be able to smile, frown, cry, etc. In other words, when done properly and naturally Botox will not prevent somebody from showing or perceiving emotion. This is the real world situation. Of course, if someone were to use enough Botox to stop all muscle activity on the forehead, between the eyebrows, and in the crows feet area then it might blunt the appearance of... more

Does Botox alter the perception of emotions?

I have heard a lot of things attributed to Botox by patients in my years of practice but this is not one of them. Just because you can measure something in the lab does not mean that it is significant in real life. We call this difference statistical significance (measurable under certain conditions) vs clinical significance (noticeably impacts your life).

Interesting Concept, But Unlikely

Interesting concept but it would require a complete paralysis of all the muscles of facial expression which would be aesthetically unattractive, so I'd say not very likely.

BOTOX® does not "deaden" perception of other's emotions

In a laboratory experiment, under tightly controlled conditions, treatment of the muscles of facial expression with BOTOX® [or other fomulations of BTX-A like Dysport® or XEOMIN®] can [to a limited extent] modulate either the expression or the perception of certain emotions. This modulation under laboratory conditions can be a positive or negative thing, depending on the experimental subject. In the real world, it is common for people being properly treated with... more