Has anyone else read about the recent study which showed a direct connection between botox injections in the muscles controlling facial expressions and a person’s ability to both express emotion and empathize with others’ emotions as well? The aspect of expressing one’s own emotion I think was already known or suspected but the empathy aspect was groundbreaking. I think this is fascinating and it opens the door for all kinds of future scientific and medicinal possibilities.
I could see future soldiers getting doses of some medicine with this stuff injected to become emotionless killing machines. Or treating people, kids, with psychological or emotional disorders like bipolar disorder and others.
Don’t you think it might be that people who get Botox injections are simply self-absorbed and lacking in empathy before the Botox?
It takes a lot of vanity to allow somone to stick needles in one’s face, for no good reason in the first place.
LOL, I hadn’t thought of it from that perspective…might not be so mysterious after all!
Even assuming it worked, why would making kids emotionless help with bipolar? Sounds like it would introduce a bunch of new problems.
I get Botox for migraines and I dread it when the appointment comes up. I would never do it for vanity alone.
Ow!
From what I know this study is not 100% sure, they are still working to see if botox really affects a person’s ability to express emotion or empathize. Until now I haven’t heard about someone complaining about this…did you?
See: James-Lange theory and Duchenne de Boulogne.
A few years ago I underwent Botox injections for TMJ brought on by a med I was taking. I wouldn’t say I was emotionless, but I never had any elevated moods (I don’t mean that in a ramped up sense – I’d be sad, let’s say, but I’d never cry). I always attributed that to the med, but now I wonder if the Botox had something to do with it…
Yes, I do think that, but there’s also this:
I never heard of that but I can see how it would work. Where do they stick you? I’d get it in the muscles in the base of my skull.
I get a few in each eyebrow, some in the forehead, along the hairline, temples (especially in the right side), and YEP at the base of the skull in the neck.
All told, it comes to over twenty individual shots.
It makes a pretty big difference though. It doesn’t prevent the headaches, but it does make them easier to get rid of - they respond better to the meds. You do lose some facial movement and get the smoother forehead. I can’t scowl quite the same way, but I try not to scowl too much anyway. I don’t want to hijack this anymore, if you want to know anything else, you can PM me.
