Cosmetic Use of Botulinum Toxin-A Affects Processing of Emotional Language

Abstract

How does language reliably evoke emotion, as when reading a favorite novel or listening to a skilled orator? Recent evidence suggests that comprehension involves a mental simulation of sentence content that calls on the same neural systems used in literal action, perception, and emotion. Here we demonstrate a causal role of involuntary facial expression in the processing of emotional language. Subcutaneous injections of botulinum toxin-A (BTX) were used to temporarily paralyze the facial muscle used in frowning. We found that BTX selectively slowed the reading of sentences with content that normally requires the paralyzed muscle for expression of a congruent emotion. This finding demonstrates a role of peripheral feedback in language processing, supports facial feedback theories of emotional cognition, and raises questions about effects of Botox on cognition and emotional reactivity. We account for the role of facial feedback in language processing by considering neurophysiological mechanisms and reinforcement learning theory.Is language comprehension the manipulation of abstract symbols by rules of syntax (e.g., Chomsky, 1959)? Recent behavioral and neuroscientific evidence suggests that comprehension involves a mental simulation of sentence content (Barsalou, 1999) that calls on the same neural systems used in literal action, perception, and emotion (Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002;Havas, Glenberg, & Rinck, 2007;Niedenthal, 2007;Pulvermüller, 2005). Here we demonstrate a causal role of involuntary facial expression in processing of emotional language. Havas et al. (2007) provide evidence for emotion simulation in language. Participants read and judged the valence of sentences describing pleasant situations ("You execute the difficult dive flawlessly") and unpleasant situations ("The police car pulls up behind you, siren blaring") while reading times were measured. Participants were instructed to hold a pen either in the teeth (to produce a smile) or in the lips (to prevent a smile) while reading. This procedure reliably induces emotional states in participants in the absence of awareness (Strack, Martin, & Stepper, 1988). As predicted, reading times for sentences describing pleasant situations were faster while participants were smiling than while they were prevented from smiling, and the reverse was found for unpleasant sentences. Thus, facial As a prelude to the current research, previous work (e.g., Niedenthal, Winkielman, Mondillon, & Vermeulen, 2009) has demonstrated that reading words describing emotions selectively activates facial muscles: Negative emotion words activate corrugator supercilii and positive emotion words activate zygomaticus. In addition, in an unreported experiment using the sentences described below, we verified that our happy sentences activated zygomaticus more than did sad and angry sentences, whereas sad and angry sentences more strongly activated corrugator supercilii than did happy sentences (see supporting information available on-line).The question we tested here is whether th...

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Treating Depression with Botulinum Toxin: A Pooled Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…popularity [7][8][9][10][11]. In one study, BTA in the forehead was compared to other cosmetic treatments (i. e., BTA in other regions besides the forehead, Restylane, glycolic peels, and laser treatments) [9].…”

What can autism teach us about the role of sensorimotor systems in higher cognition? New clues from studies on language, action semantics, and abstract emotional concept processing

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