Botox injections for a smoother, less wrinkled face are one of the most popular cosmetic procedures, but beware! Botox seems to have an impact on your brain activity.
At least that’s what a study published in Scientific Reports. Brain scans show that Botox injected into the forehead changes brain chemistry. Botulinum toxin impacts how people who have been injected interpret the emotions of others.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 4,401,536 botulinum toxin type A procedures, including Botox and similar products, were recorded in the United States in 2020, the most recent year the data was compiled. .
In 20 years, Botox injections have increased by 459% becoming the most common cosmetic procedure.
Researchers have wondered how Botox that creates temporary paralysis of facial muscles affects a person’s ability to interpret emotions.
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and AbbVie, a biotech company that makes Botox, performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on 10 women between the ages of 33 and 40.
Brain scans were done before the women received Botox in the forehead and then two or three weeks later for comparison.
Prior to MRIs, women were presented with pictures of neutral, angry faces as well as happy faces. The same shots were shown to them after the Botox injections. In both cases, the subjects were asked to interpret the emotions conveyed by the photos.
Analysis of the results showed that after receiving Botox, the women’s brain activity was altered in the amygdala, the part of the brain that receives sensory information and evaluates it.
As the researchers expected, these results align with the facial feedback hypothesis, that is, people instinctively mirror facial expressions in an effort to identify and feel the emotion they are experiencing. they see, which are expressed in front of them, for example in the photos shown to them.
The researchers note that the temporary paralysis of facial muscles caused by Botox impairs a person’s ability to reflect the emotions expressed in front of them, which changes their brain chemistry when trying to interpret the emotions of others.
According to the New York Post