100 Things: Every Designer Needs to Know About People

73. Emotions are Tied to Muscle Movement and Vice Versa

Botox is a popular cosmetic product used to reduce facial wrinkles. It’s injected into various muscles (for instance, in the face) and paralyzes them, thereby causing the wrinkles to relax. It’s been known for some time that a side effect of Botox treatments is that people can’t fully express emotions (for example, they can’t move the muscles that show they’re angry or even happy). New research shows that another side effect of the injections is that people can’t feel emotions as well, either. If you can’t move your muscles to make a facial expression, you can’t feel the emotion that goes with the expression. So if you’ve recently received a Botox injection and you go to a movie that is ...