Plump Lips Skinny Heart

How cosmetic fillers drain your empathy

Fillers aren’t just for pouty lips anymore. Cosmeticians have become quite inventive in their targeting of injection sites. Nowadays, syringes full of hyaluronic acid (Juvederm, Restylane), calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse) and poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra) are jabbed into lots of places. Sure, plumping lips is still the go-to. But countless throngs also clamor for smooth lines between the nose and mouth, greater cheek volume, contoured jawlines, a perfect dangle to earlobes and even non-veiny hands. And heaven forbid you neglect to lift that butt!

Well, I’m here to tell you, before you stuff your face full of crap, think about what it might do to your mind!

Don’t go into full panic mode, though. Let me start by allaying the worst of your fears. There’s no real evidence that fillers DIRECTLY poison the brain in a significant way (when administered properly by a qualified professional). Fillers are typically localized to the injection site and their primary components (like hyaluronic acid) are biocompatible and naturally broken down by the body over time.

So, then, how can fillers affect your mind?

Let me start by explaining the concept of mirror neurons: A mirror neuron is a type of brain cell that fires both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing that same action. Mirror neurons were discovered in the 1990s in macaque monkeys by researchers like Giacomo Rizzolatti.

Mirror neurons are primarily found in areas of the brain such as the premotor cortex and inferior parietal lobule. The premotor cortex aids in organizing complex movements (especially those involving both hands) before execution. The inferior parietal lobule evaluates and integrates sensory inputs (visual, auditory, tactile). Together, premotor cortex and inferior parietal lobule form part of a brain circuit called the frontoparietal network, which is crucial for tasks requiring hand-eye coordination, tool use and (apropos of today’s post) imitation.

Mirror neurons play a key role in understanding others’ actions, intentions, and emotions by internally “mirroring” what’s observed. For example, when you see someone smile, your mirror neurons for smiling may activate, helping you interpret or even experience a similar emotion. This mechanism is believed to underpin empathy, social learning, and imitation.

On the flip side of the coin, impaired facial mimicry can reduce emotional resonance, potentially leading to lost empathy or eroded social connection.

And guess what! That’s where cosmetic fillers enter the tale. Reduced facial mobility may impair a person’s ability to mimic expressions. It’s well known that lip and cheek fillers can temporarily or, in rare cases, persistently restrict facial muscle movement; especially if overfilled or poorly placed. Multiple plastic surgeons have noted that excessive lip filler can limit dynamic expressions like smiling or frowning, which are critical for mimicry. Cheek fillers, when overdone, may similarly affect midface mobility. What’s more, reduced mimicry due to fillers may cause social interactions to be less fluid, as others may perceive a person’s expressions as less genuine.

In 2020, German scientists reviewed the scientific literature regarding facial mimicry, empathy, and emotion recognition. They discovered facial mimicry was correlated with two types of empathy: affective empathy (sharing others’ emotions) and cognitive empathy (understanding others’ emotions). In other words, lose mimicry and say good-bye to empathy. What’s more, individuals who are better at mimicking facial expressions (for example, smiling in response to happy faces) tend to be more accurate in identifying emotions from others’ faces.

In 2018, Swedish scientists developed a facial feedback hypothesis. The enlisted more than thirty volunteers to smile or frown when presented with either appropriate or inappropriate stimuli. They proved that artificially creating facial expressions alters the intensity of emotional experiences. The effect was stronger in incongruent conditions (for example, smiling at sad faces). The bottom line is that voluntary control of facial muscles can influence how emotions are processed and experienced. By corollary, limiting facial expressions deadens or otherwise perverts emotions.

So, before you get jabbed in the face, think twice. Fillers (lip or cheek) might affect mimicry if they restrict facial mobility. The above discussed evidence suggests that facial mimicry is important for empathy, emotional understanding and social bonding.

And what about Botox? Well, that has problems of its own. Check out https://brain2mind.substack.com/p/new-research-botox-effects-on-the and https://brain2mind.substack.com/p/bad-batch-of-botox