Botox Makes People Happier
By Bobby Buka, MDMay 25, 2009
Well, sort of. A study to be published in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery in June by Dayan et al has linked the use of local muscle paralytic botulinum toxin A to the creation of more positive first impressions. The link between a friendlier-looking countenance and social success is intuitive, the authors contend. In this study, expressions that were perceived as friendlier (think less furrowed brow) invoked a friendly response from the viewer. The photographs of subjects, taken before and after botulinum toxin injection, were scored by observers they had never met before, and who only saw one version of the photograph. Photographs of subjects taken after injection with botulinum toxin were perceived as having better dating success, attractiveness, and athletic success.
This story first broke last September when the L.A. Times reported on the presentation of this study at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery meeting in Chicago, but has received an increasing amount of buzz as more investigators make the link between facial expressions and everything from depression to overall quality of life. A series of ten patients with depression reported by Finzi et al showed that 9 of 10 had reversal of depression two months after treatment with botulinum toxin. Not only do moods cause facial expressions, but facial expressions can cause moods, psychiatrists believe. Charles Darwin once wrote, "the free expression, by outward signs, of an emotion intensifies it," echoing the pioneering English psychiatrist Henry Maudsley, who wrote that "emotion is intesified and made definite by the bodily action." I guess they knew what they were talking about.
The FDA announced last week that a new botulinum toxin, Dysport, will soon be available in the U.S. It is said to be a cheaper version of the toxin, compared to Botox, and appears to work just as well.
Editor's Note: Dr. Buka is a board certified dermatologist who performs botulinum toxin injections. His practice is in New York City.
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