Botox can cost you your friends

LONDON - Botox can result in limiting facial expressions that can eventually hamper relationships, as people using it may not be able to show their emotions completely, a new study suggest.

Apparently, Botox users find it hard to frown, look angry or sad and may even be unable to show empathy because of their frozen facial muscles.

David Havas, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led the study, in which he monitored the speed at which 40 volunteers processed written statements with an emotional message before and after receiving Botox injections.

It was observed that after the injections, the volunteers took significantly longer to grasp and react to negative concepts such as being ignored on their birthday or being interrupted during dinner by a telesales call.

“Blocking facial expression diminishes the experience of emotion. Our faces are normally alive with activity, which contributes to our understanding of each other, and there is a strong link between our facial expression and our ability to comprehend the meaning of language,” Times Online quoted Havas as saying.

He added: “If people seem slow in reacting to what they are being told, it is likely to be interpreted as a lack of sympathy or interest.”

However, the volunteers responded at normal speed to positive or happy ideas.

Havas insisted that the research proves Charles Darwin’s theory that facial expression is an important factor in producing emotion in the brain. The study will soon be published in the journal Psychological Science. (ANI)